


The Lion's Quintessence

by NeonCandies



Series: Oriande's Chosen [3]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Altean Keith (Voltron), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Back with that simmering fire, Canon who that I don't know her, F/M, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slow Burn, Temporary Character Death, White Lion au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-14
Updated: 2020-08-08
Packaged: 2021-02-27 22:41:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 19
Words: 107,615
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22703371
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NeonCandies/pseuds/NeonCandies
Summary: With their Red Paladin missing, Voltron is down more than just a single arm. However the appearance of a new ally might reveal where Keith is. But is the risk in trusting their new friend worth it? Or will the team lose more than just one Altean? No matter what the outcomes may be, if it means seeing Keith again then Shiro is willing to take those chances. And with his team by his side, he knows he has nothing to fear. They'll bring Keith home.
Relationships: Keith/Shiro (Voltron)
Series: Oriande's Chosen [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1538947
Comments: 260
Kudos: 270





	1. Her Paladin

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Hello lovelies! Here I am, back with part 2! For those of you who are new to this series: Welcome! Thank you for reading! And to those who have been with Oriande's Chosen since I first started posting, welcome back! I'm very excited for what I have planned this time and I hope you all are just as interested. I already have a few chapters written up so I will be posting them weekly till I run out. Then I'll take a bit of a break, write some more chapters, and then repeat the process. Thank you for joining me on this ride and feel free to leave a comment! I appreciate them all even if it's just keysmashing! Also on a side-note, I'm not satisfied with the story summary so I might end up changing that in the future if I think of something better.

The silence of space was a constant. Each noise yelled into the swirling void was swallowed up, never to be heard again. Though the lack of sound was unbroken, the same could not be said for its visuals. The glittering stars were always moving. Colourful nebulas splashed together in a dance of breathtaking watercolours. And here, in this little pocket of space, debris and shrapnel floated undisturbed. Though not for long.

From between the wreckage of torn ships and blown metal flew a hulking blue form. The Lion twisted over the expanse of the battlefield and came to a stop just at the edge of where it started. In the pilot seat, the Blue Paladin pressed a button on his console and connected to the castle ship floating nearly two light years away.

“Alright I’m in position. Ready on your end, Pidge?”

An image of the Green Paladin appeared on Lance’s screen. She was staring with intense focus at something. Behind her hovered the rest of their team, everyone sans the Red Paladin.

“ _Ready. Go on ahead._ ”

“Activating sonar now.” Lance pressed his bayard into its slot and twisted. With a hum the console lit up and on the back of his lion the powerful device appeared. 

Back on the castle ship the rest of the team eagerly awaited the results of his scan. Pidge had Allura station them two light years away in order to avoid possible interference from the castle’s presence. 

Soon the data was flashing across Pidge’s screen. She desperately scanned lines of code for some sign of Keith in the scans Blue’s sonar had taken. Yet in the end the results were the same as every test previously run. 

“ _Anything?_ ” Lance asked over the coms, voice tinged with hope.

Pidge took in a shuddering breath and bit her lip hard enough to bleed. “Nothing.” 

Around her the others let out their own sounds of frustrated disappointment. Lance cursed, raising a hand and rubbing at the parts of his face not covered by his helmet. “ _He’s got to be out here! Or something that tells us where he is!_ ” 

“It’s not like he was launched from Red, we would’ve seen that. And even if he **was** he could’ve contacted us.” Hunk looked away from Pidge’s screen, “But let’s say his coms are down for some reason and he can’t call us. What about White? Keith said he could control it from wherever.”

“But the White Lion is still on the ship.” Allura said softly. Her eyes were red-rimmed from the countless tears she no doubt shed. Allura looked like a barely put-together mess. Everyone did.

It had been a total of four days since the battle against Zarkon. They had to wait an entire day before returning to the battlefield just in case Zarkon’s command center was still there. And from the moment they returned the team had worked nonstop to try and comb the wreckage for Keith.

“Shiro, the vision you had during the battle… Can you think of anything else it held that might reveal where exactly Yorak has gone?”

The Black Paladin shook his head. His hands were clenched at his sides and the force of his grip sent small tremors up his arms. From the bags under his eyes it was obvious he hadn’t been sleeping, probably less than before. “I’m not too sure. Keith… He seemed to know what was happening. He didn’t even try to fight… Whatever that was. Black wouldn’t let me get to him either.”

Lance rubbed at his chin in thought. On the screen they saw him lean back and squint up towards the roof of his Lion. “ _Hmmm… So Black was getting in your way? What about Red? Was she doing anything?_ ”

Shiro paused at that in order to think back on the memory. “Red was cuddling up to Keith? She didn’t seem worried or anything. Just wanted his attention.”

“ _So the Lions were fine and Keith looked like he knew what was going on? Then… Maybe Keith isn’t exactly ‘missing’? And maybe that’s why Red or White haven’t left the ship to go and get him._ ”

Allura frowned, “Lance, what do you mean?”

“ _Well think about it,_ ” Lance leaned forward and waved his hands, “ _Keith can summon White from wherever, ok! He can also do that with Red. We’ve seen that. But if he was really in danger then why wouldn’t he summon one of them? White can make portals, so if he really needed immediate help he could just get White to him. But Shiro said that none of the Lions looked concerned by what was happening. So maybe the reason why they haven’t moved yet is because Keith isn’t in danger._ ” 

Silence befell the team at Lance’s theory. He honestly… Had a point. If Keith needed help then what was stopping Red or White from getting to him?

“But that still doesn’t explain how he disappeared from the cockpit!” Pidge snapped. She pushed up her glasses and rubbed furiously at her face. Like Shiro, she too hadn’t been sleeping well. At this point the shadows beneath her eyes have grown so prominent she looked like a little raccoon. 

“Pidge is right. People don’t just disappear like that.” Hunk added.

There was a sudden loud clap that caught everyone’s attention. Heads snapped to where Coran stood off to the side. He looked tired, a lingering sadness in his eyes that couldn’t be washed away by the smile he plastered on.

“Alright, that’s enough for today. Lance, come back to the castle. Everyone else, come down to the kitchen for dinner. Then I expect you all to get a good night’s rest for tomorrow.” He said with a finality that booked no argument. Shame the others still tried.

“ _What?!_ ”

“But we still have half a battlefield left! What if Keith is really in the wreckage?!”

“We can’t just stop now!”

Coran shook his head and wagged a finger at the lot of them. “None of that now. You’ll be of no use to anyone if you’re tired and hungry. Besides…” The Altean’s brows furrowed slightly and he looked off to the side. “We can’t keep this up. Not with so much of the universe still needing to be saved.”

It was a moment before Coran blinked and the sad lit to his voice was replaced by one with his usual cheer. While it might not have been the strongest sound of joy, there was no denying that he was at least trying.

“So come on! I whipped up something extra special!” 

Coran was very adamant in making sure everyone was down in the kitchen eating food. Then after everyone returned to their rooms during the night cycle, he did a final check up just to make sure they were indeed in their rooms sleeping.

Running into Shiro was a given. Coran knew the other had trouble sleeping sometimes. He also knew that his insomnia only increased since their battle with Zarkon. Before the battle, it was Keith who would spend time with Shiro before coaxing him to bed. Now it was up to Coran to fill in the gap.

He found the human standing in the lounge he and Keith had frequented. However now it was only him sitting in the large room. It was a lonely sight that made Coran’s frown deepen. He clenched his hands once before they loosened just as quickly. As Coran stepped into the lounge, he could see the look of intense concentration on the Black Paladin’s face.

Shiro had replayed that vision on loop like a broken record. He analyzed what happened, how he’d felt at the time, how Keith acted, and so on. He concluded that the planet he was on had been Oriande. Which made sense since the Guardian was there. Which also implied that whatever happened to Shiro and Keith, the Guardian of Oriande was involved in some way. However with every answer he seemed to find, new questions reared up and sent him back to square one. What exactly happened to Keith? Where was he? Was he ok? 

“Number 1, up late again?”

Shiro stiffened before his shoulders slumped and he turned away from the large window. The smile Shiro offered Coran was small and helpless. He shrugged, not even trying to come up with an excuse. He had a feeling that Coran wouldn’t have believed him anyways. 

Coran nodded like he expected the lack of an answer. “Come with me for just a tick. I want your help with something.” 

What he could possibly need help with this late into the night cycle, Shiro didn’t know. But he was never one to say no to a friend in need. So Shiro dutifully followed Coran into the kitchen. He watched the Altean putter about, taking three cups and setting them on a tray before opening one of the many storage lockers and pulling out a bottle of pinkish liquid.

“Nunvill?” Shiro couldn’t help asking.

“No, no. Not Nunvill. Just a little something called Juniberry punch. It’s a lot sweeter than Nunvill, promise.”

Shiro couldn’t help but be skeptical at that. “Alright… But why three glasses?”

“That’s what I want you to help me with. Carry the tray and follow me. Make sure nothing spills.” Coran tugged on the end of his mustache and left the room. 

Shiro picked up the tray and spent far too much care in making sure the glasses weren’t jostled. Which wasn’t hard but Shiro was giving it the focus of a man dying for sleep. Meaning he was near delirious in his efforts to keep the tray from shaking just the slightest bit.

Before he knew it they found themselves in the castle’s main docking bay. Shiro was confused as to what they were doing there before the door opened and he felt his heart clench painfully.

Pidge was sitting in front of White with several different screens surrounding her. She was hunched in front of one computer, typing away in a single-minded focus. She probably hadn’t even heard the doors opening from how absorbed she was. 

“She’s been like this the past few nights since Keith disappeared.” Coran whispered softly. Shiro turned to look at the Altean and found him watching Pidge with a look of deep understanding. “At first she was in Red’s hangar hooking these devices up trying to get a reading. But when that didn’t garner any results she moved here. I didn’t mind so much the first night as I assumed she would eventually get some sleep. I thought the same the second night. And by the third I was desperately hoping she’d at least pass out so she could rest. But as you can see, that’s not the case. And at this point I can’t let it go on.” Coran turned to look at Shiro pointedly, “Neither of you have been sleeping since Keith disappeared. And as important parts of Voltron, that is unacceptable.”

For some reason hearing that from Coran left Shiro feeling guilty. Almost like he’d disappointed a parent. Coran patted his shoulder and moved from the door over to Pidge. Shiro followed, tray still in hand and his head lowered like he’d just been reprimanded. The lack of sleep must be getting to him if Coran’s “ _chastising_ ” was impacting him like this.

“Alright Number 5! I’ve let this go on long enough. You’re going to burn yourself out at this rate and Voltron can’t function without their Green Paladin.” Coran’s voice startled Pidge enough that she visibly jumped.

The little Paladin turned to glare at the two in blatant irritation, “Voltron can’t function without their Red Paladin either.”

Coran merely hummed, taking one of the glasses from the tray and handing it to Pidge. He then took the tray from Shiro and nodded his head towards one of the remaining glasses. Understanding the implication, Shiro took his glass while Coran got the last one.

The older Altean sighed and sat next to Pidge who was sniffing at the drink curiously. Surprisingly it smelt rather sweet and fruity. Pretty inviting if she was being honest. Pidge had kind of ran out of all her water pouches and had forgotten to grab more before sneaking down here, so the drink was appreciated.

“Look Number 5,” Coran began slowly, suddenly looking far older and more tired than he did a moment ago. “I understand you’re desperate to find Keith. But running yourself into the ground won’t help anyone.”

“But he’s out there, Coran! I know he is!”

“As do I. But you’re not the only one looking for him, Pidge. Kolivan has put out a message to all Blade members telling them to keep an eye out for Keith. That’s hundreds if not thousands of people looking for Keith from all points of the galaxy.” 

Coran wasn’t wrong. The moment Antok and Kolivan had learned Keith disappeared, the two Galra’s hadn’t believed it. They had rushed to Red’s cockpit and searched high and low. Kolivan even sniffed the air like it’d help him track Keith’s scent. But there had been nothing. No trail for him to follow. The scent just… Disappeared.

It was jarring to see Antok suddenly drop to his knees beside Keith’s empty chair. Clawed hands shook as he touched the frame, still warm with Keith’s lingering heat. Then his voice had come out. Raw and broken with emotions that shook the others down to their core. He whispered Keith’s name, switching between Galran and English like he was trying to coax the other to answer. Acting like Keith was just hiding and would spring out any moment to yell “ _surprise!_ ” at them. But when that didn’t happen his voice only grew more frantic.

Kolivan had to physically pull his mate out of the cockpit. But even then he didn’t go far before Antok was collapsing once again. All Kolivan could do was hold Antok while the other broke down. Antok’s tail curled around his leg and his large body shook with massive tremors. Kolivan had whispered to him in Galran, reassurances that they would find Keith no matter what. It did little to sooth his mate.

Kolivan and Antok only stayed on the castle ship long enough for Thace to be healed. Afterwards they boarded their ship and headed back towards the Marmora base. They had their own missions left to complete. However Kolivan had promised that they’d be informing all their Blade members to keep an eye out for Keith. That was the best they could hope for. As much as they wanted to stay and try to search for their missing nephew, they couldn’t. The mission came first for the Blades. Always.

Pidge deflated at Coran’s words and her bottom lip trembled. She sniffed, pushing up her glasses and rubbing furiously at her eyes. The bags beneath them were so dark. It caused a new wave of pain to squeeze at Shiro’s heart. How could he have let this go on for so long? He was their leader. He should have been paying closer attention to his team's health.

Shiro reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder, squeezing in comfort. “We’ll find him, Pidge.”

She flashed him a watery smile before sighing and taking a small sip of her drink. Then she blinked and looked down at it. “Wow this is kind of pretty good? What the heck is it? It’s cold in the cup but when I drink it, it’s warm? How is that even possible??”

“Juniberry punch! You keep it chilled but it’s actually a warm drink! Interesting, yes?” Coran chuckled and pulled at his mustache. “Made from the Juniberry flower, Altea’s pride and joy! Their scent was one of the sweetest as was any dish made with their petals, pollen, or nectar! ‘Course if Keith was here, he’d probably argue that. He was always fond of the Silver Moon Blossoms. Planted a whole field of them near our old hideaway once! His mothers were downright furious at how filthy his clothes were afterwards! Keep in mind he decided to do this all before a party, so of course they had plenty of reason to be cross with him. But that didn’t bother Keith one bit!”

As Coran rambled on about some of the antics Keith and he got up to on Altea, Pidge and Shiro chuckled and continued to sip at their paradoxical drink. Though Coran never specified what it was he needed Shiro’s help with, the Black Paladin had a feeling this might be it. He probably wanted Shiro’s help in keeping Pidge company. Sadly he was **very** mistaken in this. Coran was, in fact, just killing two birds with one stone.

By the time Pidge and Shiro finished their drinks they were feeling quite drowsy and as they continued to listen to Coran ramble, they found themselves drifting off into a fitful sleep. Coran continued talking for a full minute before he heard soft snoring from the two Paladin’s. With a smile he set aside his full glass and stood.

“You know the funny thing about Juniberry punch is that it’s the perfect drink for if you can’t sleep. Boosts your little head chemicals so you get sleepy and conk right out!” He said despite the fact neither Pidge nor Shiro were listening to him. Coran moved over, picking up Pidge and slinging her over a shoulder. “Come along then Number 5, Number 1. Best be getting you back to your rooms. We’ve got a long day ahead of us tomorrow.”

As he left the room carrying both humans, Coran made a note to come back and return for his glass. It wouldn’t do to waste a cup of perfectly good Juniberry punch, after all.

///

The next morning found the team all gathered in the castle’s dining room. Each of them looked to have gotten some form of rest, Shiro and Pidge the most. They had arrived later than everyone simply because they’d slept through the castle’s wake-up call. Which was surprising since Shiro was usually up far before everyone else.

“Well don’t you two look well-rested!” Lance said with a quirked brow, “I can’t even see those bags anymore! Must’ve been one good sleep.”

“Good sleep my ass. Coran drugged us.” Pidge griped with a half-hearted scowl directed towards the older Altean. 

Coran finished piling some of the food goo onto Allura’s plate before sticking his nose up indignantly. “I did no such thing. A cup of Juniberry punch is **meant** to make you fall asleep. So it did its job as intended! Worked a little faster than expected though. But that probably has to do with your squishy little Earth bodies.”

Allura frowned and looked between Shiro and Pidge in concern. “Oh dear. If Coran was giving you Juniberry punch then it must have been serious.”

“Indeed it was! Which is why I’m deciding to interfere on all your behalf’s and put my foot down.” Coran moved to stand at the head of the table. He crossed his arms over his chest and said with finality, “I’m calling off the search.”

It was like a bomb went off. Noise exploded in the room and people stood from their chairs. A few even pointed at Coran while shouts of protest overlapped into a cacophony of sound. Coran watched this pandemonium with barely a twitch in expression. Clearly he’d expected this reaction from everyone and wasn’t the least bit surprised.

“Coran, what is the meaning of this? Surely you aren’t suggesting we give up on finding Yorak?!” Allura’s voice carried over the protesting humans, instantly rendering them quiet. 

Coran crossed his arms behind his back and inclined his head towards Allura. “Of course not, Princess. While we can continue to look for Keith in our spare time, currently he should not be our main focus.”

“How can you say that?! He’s your friend!” Lance yelled angrily.

“It’s because Keith is my friend that I’m saying this.”

Everyone froze, confusion rising up to join the righteous anger they felt for their missing teammate. Coran sighed, his shoulders slumping in something akin to resignation.

“The universe needs you. Voltron can’t continue to linger in the middle of space scouring for someone who clearly isn’t here. Keith is not in the wreckage. We know this. Pidge, you’re beyond intelligent. If your scans can’t find him here, then nothing will. It’s time we move on from this place and continue our fight against Zarkon’s control. He may be defeated but his hold on the universe is still as firm as before.”

Pidge grit her teeth and slammed a fist onto the table. “I’m not giving up on finding Keith! He’s my family! I can’t… I can’t risk losing any more of my family out here.” She choked on the last part, shoulders hunching up to her ears.

Allura’s brows furrowed and she reached over the table to place her hand on Pidge’s. The two locked eyes, Allura’s brimming with sympathy. “He’s all our family. And we won’t give up on him. No matter what may happen.”

Coran smiled apologetically, “I’m not telling you to give up on Keith or forget him. I’m suggesting that our focus should be on liberating those under Zarkon’s control. Besides, Keith will come back to us when he’s ready. He made a promise. And if I know Keith, which I do, then I know for a fact he’ll keep his promise. We only need to have faith in him.”

Faith. Was it really that simple? When Keith could be somewhere desperate for his friends? What if he needed help? What if he was alone? But… He was the Guardian’s vessel. Surely it wouldn’t let Keith die when he still had a mission to carry out. 

It seemed like everyone came to the same conclusion. Just from a look around showed the resolve in their eyes. They trusted Keith to return and they had faith in the Guardian to keep him alive. Keith would come back to them. It was only a matter of time.

“But… What about Red? Without a pilot we can’t form Voltron.”

Hunk’s question suddenly made everyone freeze. Of course. They were still down a Paladin.

Shiro frowned and crossed his arms over his chest in contemplation. “Keith did say he was never supposed to be a Paladin. Maybe this is what he meant? He knew eventually he wouldn’t be the one piloting Red, remember?”

Suddenly Coran’s eyes widened and he snapped his fingers. “Hold on a tick! I just remembered something! Memory was a little fuzzy since it was said when we’d drunk a good amount of Nunvill but never mind that tidbit. Anyways! Keith told me something the day you all came here. He told me that while he wasn’t Red’s Paladin, Lance wasn’t Blue’s either!”

“What?!” 

Once again there was an uproar at the table. Lance was staring at Coran in disbelief, looking downright distraught. “I’m not Blue’s Paladin?! Why didn’t she tell me?!!”

“No clue! Apparently she wouldn’t tell Keith the answer either.”

Lance hunched over and tossed his hands up, “So what? I’m not meant to be a Paladin?? I just happened to be here for the ride??”

Coran rolled his eyes at Lance’s dramatics and flung a bit of food goo at him. Lance squawked, flailing and wiping the splattered goop off his face. “None of that. I never said you weren’t a Paladin and neither did Keith. You are a Paladin, just not Blue’s.”

“Hold on,” Shiro frowned thoughtfully, “Keith told us that he wasn’t Red’s Paladin, sure. But didn’t he also say we’d know who Red’s Paladin was when the time came?”

Everyone’s eyes widened at that. Keith did indeed mention that they’d know. But he never told them when it would happen.

“Are you saying Keith knew that something would happen to him and we’d be given no choice but to find a new Paladin for Red???” Hunk asked in bewilderment.

“Maybe? And if what Coran told us is true and Lance is Red’s actual Paladin, then that means it’s Blue who doesn’t have a Paladin. Maybe the reason why Lance was able to pilot Blue down on Earth was because her actual Paladin wasn’t there. And at the time Lance was the only one close enough to what she was looking for that Blue was content allowing him to pilot her.” The Black Paladin continued from his previous train of thought. 

“Ok but if I’m Red’s Paladin, then who’s Blue’s?”

One by one eyes drifted from the table over towards Allura. She blinked, stunned for a moment before jolting in shock. “Wah- Me? B-but I’m not… I can’t…?”

She looked helplessly towards Coran for assistance. He merely shrugged at her with a smile, “It’s worth a shot.”

Which is how the team found themselves heading down to the Lion’s hangars. Their first stop was at Red’s. If Lance truly was her pilot then that meant someone else was Blue’s. And though the thought of it hurt Lance, he wouldn’t deny that if it was for the good of the team then he was more than willing to step down. Don’t get him wrong though! He loved Blue! And how could he not?! They’ve been through so much together! But he wasn’t going to just force her to let him be her pilot. If he wasn’t meant to be her Paladin then he wasn’t her Paladin. Simple as that. And he could come to terms with that. It would just… Take some time for the sting to heal. And somewhere deep in Lance’s heart he kind of hoped it wouldn’t come to that.

But here he was sitting in Red’s cockpit. Apprehension choked him like a noose and a heavy weight settled in the pit of his stomach. A noticeable tremor traveled up his hands as he worked up the nerves to take Red’s controls. For all the confidence Lance liked to show, when it really came down to it he could be quite unsure of himself.

The Red Paladin was supposed to be Black’s right hand. Both literally and figuratively. But Lance couldn’t do that! He didn’t know Shiro as well as Keith. They didn’t go to school together, not the way Keith and Shiro did. Lance only saw Shiro from afar. Viewed him like everyone in his grade did. An untouchable hero that he’d be **lucky** to even say hi to. Yet now here he was; thousands of lightyears away actively working to save the universe with said hero. And he was now being given the chance to work as Shiro’s right hand. A dream come true for someone like Lance! But… He couldn’t. Lance couldn’t replace Keith.

His hands dropped and he sighed far heavier than one his age should. “I can’t do it. Piloting Red? Being Shiro’s right hand?? What a joke. What’s my deal?! I should be jumping at the chance! Here I am testing to see if you’ll let me be your pilot and I’m not even sure I want it! Keith knows Shiro better than any of us! I can’t compete with that!”

Lance closed his eyes and leaned back against Red’s chair. He looked up to the roof of her cockpit and sighed again. “But Keith isn’t here so someone has to step up to the plate. I just don’t know if it should be me.”

Around him the Lion was as silent as when Lance first stepped in. Clearly she wasn’t going to offer any advice on how to win her favor. It was up to Lance to make himself desirable enough for the Lion to choose him. But how could he do that? He was just… Lance. 

And while that may be true… He was **still** the person Keith believed to be Red’s proper Paladin. Maybe he didn’t say that word for word, but he affirmed it was undeniable that Lance was a Paladin. 

“I’m meant to be here.” Lance whispered after a lengthy silence. With each sentence Lance’s voice grew stronger as his conviction rose, “I’m a Paladin of Voltron. I’m… I was a leg. But now I’m supposed to be an arm. That’s different, but it’s still a part of Voltron. And leg or not I don’t care. I’m going to see this through. I’m going to do my best to make sure Keith wasn’t wrong in his choice. I’m **meant** to be a Paladin and I’m going to prove it.” 

To himself or to the team, he didn’t know. But Lance would see this through to the very end. Even if he made a mistake down the line. Even if it turned out that he really wasn’t meant to be Red’s Paladin, Lance didn’t care. He’s made a commitment and he’s not backing out now.

Almost like she could sense his newfound determination, Red’s lights suddenly flared on with a pleased rumble. The purring in Lance’s head chimed in just as abruptly. It filled the previous silence and stole away the cold from the cockpit. He felt a warmth settle around him and in his bones like he was encased in a warm hug. Or being cuddled by a massive cat.

Lance’s lip quirked into a crooked smile and he snorted. “Glad to have your support.”

There was a comforting brush against his senses before the Lion was powering down. Lance took the not so subtle “now get out” for what it was and patted the console before making for the exit. However like with Blue, Red’s presence lingered in the back of his mind. A constant assurance that she was there no matter how far from her he got.

The moment Lance stepped from the Lion’s maw he was surrounded by his team. Hunk’s arms wrapped him up in the best bear hug ever while everyone patted him and offered their shows of support.

“Good job, Lance!”

“I knew you could do it!”

Lance grinned and flashed a pair of finger guns towards his team when Hunk set him back on the ground. “Well no duh! Red saw how charming I was and couldn’t resist snatching me up as a Paladin.” His team groaned and rolled their eyes fondly. And for some reason Lance felt like Red was doing the same. 

“Well,” Shiro said, drawing everyone’s attention to him. He had a slightly complicated look on his face as he glanced at Red. Though the moment he looked back to his team it was gone and was replaced by an easy smile. “Now it’s time for Blue.”

Eyes turned to Allura and she swallowed hard. With a determined glint in her eye the Princess nodded. “Yes. Let us head to her hangar now.”

It didn’t take long to go from the Red Halls to the Blue. However before Allura approached the slumbering Lion everyone watched as Lance walked up and stopped at her muzzle. He hesitated before placing a hand on her metal chin.

“Hey Blue…” He whispered, voice so soft only the Alteans could hear. “We had a lot of good times, didn’t we? And I won’t ever forget those. You were my first Lion and being your pilot was amazing. So… Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to fly you. I know I’m not your Paladin anymore—that I was never meant to be your Paladin… But I’m grateful for the time we had together. Allura’s going to be a great Paladin. Together you both are going to be incredible, I just know it.”

In Lance’s mind he heard the faintest of purring before the sound began to fade. Then the familiar cool weight of Blue slipped from his mind like water through his fingers. All that was left was the comforting warmth that was the Red Lion. But Lance didn’t find it as heartbreaking as he thought it would be. If anything he felt better. Comforted even. 

With a smile filled to the brim in contentment, Lance stepped back and offered a sheepish laugh to the team. “Sorry. Just had to say bye to Blue.”

Allura smiled in reassurance and reached out a hand to touch his arm. “We understand, Lance. You were her Paladin for so long, after all. I would be remiss if I did not allow you two to have a moment.”

Lance was grateful for that and allowed his smile to grow. He patted Allura’s shoulder and looked towards Blue just as her jaws parted. 

“Well go and get her, Princess. She’s waiting for you.”

Stepping back, the former Blue Paladin joined the cluster that was their team and left Allura to stand in front of the awaiting machine. Allura’s hands clenched at her sides and she took a deep breath to steady herself. She could do this.

On her exhale Allura began the trek inside the Lion. However once she was sitting in the pilot’s seat she found herself at a loss. What was she supposed to do? She knew it wasn’t as simple as grabbing the controls and expecting Blue to accept her. While she might be the most agreeable Lion, Blue still had an attitude to her. Just because she could meld well with anyone doesn’t mean she wanted to be piloted by **just** anyone. Blue was flexible like water, yes. But she could be just as cold as ice if need be.

“Blue…” Allura started, hesitating. How should she go about this? Order the Lion? No, that would be disrespectful and would probably backfire. Blue was not one of her subjects. She was more liable to eject Allura than bend to her will. And wouldn’t that just be the most shameful thing to happen.

“I must admit that I’m at a loss on what to do. I’ve never piloted a Lion before. My father was Red’s Paladin. I had thought that if I was meant to pilot a Lion then it would be the same as him. But apparently that isn’t meant to be.” She looked down at her hands and clenched them minutely. “I’m meant to be a Paladin like him, but not the same Paladin he was. It would seem I’m not meant to follow in my father’s footsteps…”

After a moment, it was like she had a sudden epiphany. Allura blinked, head tilted to the side. “And though I may be a ruler, I am not meant to be the same ruler like my father was. I am to take my own path. Make my own decisions. He is not here to advise me like at the start of our journey. But I’m… Surprisingly fine with that. Because I’m not alone. I have my friends—my family, by my side willing to help me should I need it. And it’s thanks to them that I’ve been able to come so far. They’ve helped me grow as a ruler and as a person. Without them I would not be the same person I am today. They are… So important to me.”

With a determined glint in her eye, Allura took Blue’s controls and spoke aloud to the Lion. Her voice was hard, steely like that of a ruler. She put as much emphasis and promise into her voice as she could muster. “Blue, I ask that you give me your strength. Allow me to fight with your help so that I may protect what’s important to me. So that I can have the chance to keep my family safe. I refuse to let harm come to them. Not if I can help it.”

Lights flared and Blue rumbled to life with a mighty purr just as a weight suddenly settled in Allura’s mind. Refreshing like a chilled drink passing down a parched throat. It sent a shiver up Allura’s back and she let out a little puff of air in shock. So this is what Blue’s presence felt like? She wondered if it was the same for all the Lions. Or maybe they were different? Perhaps she should ask her Paladin’s later. 

Allura smiled, running her hand along Blue’s console. “Thank you, Blue.”

She received a rumbling chuff in reply. 

Once Allura exited the Lion she received as much celebration as Lance had. Over the heads of the humans crowding into her space, Allura locked eyes with Coran. 

He gave her a watery smile and whispered, “Your father would be proud of you.”

Allura’s own eyes began to burn with the threat of tears and she hid her bashful smile with a duck of her head. Then Shiro was speaking, drawing everyone’s attention to their Black Paladin. “Alright everyone. Suit up and get to your Lions. We’ve got drills to run.” 

He was right. Lance needed to learn how to master Red and Allura needed to learn how to fly Blue. Without them Voltron would be down a leg and an arm. But even direr was that without them, there wouldn’t **be** a Voltron. So they had to work hard in order to find their groove again. But it was no problem. They would do this together.


	2. The Friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Voltron finds themselves in the middle of an unexpected trap.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hey! So for starters, I have been absolutely DYING to write this chapter. Ever since part 1 I've been eager for this part. And now that it's finally here I couldn't be happier. This chapter is one of my favourites so far. And next chapter only amplifies it! I hope the cliffhanger leaves you excited for what's to come~ Though I do apologize for it being shorter than the previous one. I might end up uploading the next chapter early? Maybe on Wednesday... We'll see :>

Nearly three weeks, if Shiro was counting correctly, have passed since the battle against Zarkon. A lot has happened since then. Though everyone has started settling into their new team dynamic, there was no denying that the gap left by Keith’s absence was still felt. 

Shiro had managed to begin sleeping again, more or less. Though some days when it was too hard to block out the horrors of the arena he would find himself in his and Keith’s lounge. And when he was too tired to function, he’d find himself turning his head to ask a question to someone who wasn’t there. In those moments Shiro felt an ache deep within his soul. Is this what Keith felt when he disappeared?

It wasn’t just Shiro who would sometimes forget Keith was gone. Lance would pop into the training room to ask if the other would want to spar only to find it bereft of life. He’d grow sullen and find somewhere else to occupy his thoughts. A few times the others had found him hanging out with Red and simply talking to her. Though what the conversations were about, only Red would know.

Hunk, on the other hand, would stop by Keith’s room to ask for help with translating Altean ingredients only to remember and stop short of knocking. He’d then linger there for a while, unsure of what to do. In the end Hunk would find himself back in the kitchen winging it and creating his own recipes. Of course it was all in preparation for when they found Keith and had a big feast. So every new recipe had to be perfected.

Pidge, after losing another brother, was a wreck. She’d taken up residence in Keith’s room and had even moved most of her equipment there. She also kept Keith’s blade close to her, wearing it much like the Altean had. Lance had found it in Red during one of their drills and had instantly brought it to her afterwards. He had hoped it would help Pidge feel somewhat better to have something of Keith’s, but when the smaller Paladin promptly burst into tears Lance had gone into a panic. Though in the end Pidge had nearly hugged the life out of him and had blubbered out a croaky thanks. From then on Pidge kept Krolia’s blade on her, even going against the training bot to get better at wielding it. She wanted to keep using it till Keith returned.

Allura did whatever she could to avoid thinking about their missing teammate. But it wasn’t from lack of caring, it was simply because she knew now was not the time to grieve. They still had so much work to do and Yorak would have been disappointed if he thought she wasn’t taking her new role as Blue Paladin seriously. So Allura threw herself into training with Blue and trying to get better at working with the Lion. Gradually she was getting better than her first test-run. At one point Allura had even apologized to the team for being so hard on them the first time they flew their Lions. Clearly it wasn’t as easy as she had thought. The only noticeable change, however, was that now Allura stuck closer to Coran and the mice than before. It was almost like she was afraid of losing the last bits of Altea she had left. 

Everyone was handling their grief differently. The only one to not show any outward signs of what he might be feeling was Coran. Every time he was around the others he had a smile plastered on and was joking like Keith was still there. But the team knew he had to be hurting inside. Perhaps even more than the rest of them. Yet he refused to let them see the pain in his heart. He brushed off any concern and instead focused on making sure everyone else was fine. Never mind that he was breaking on the inside. His duty was to ensuring Voltron ran as smoothly as it could.

But in rare moments he would slip. Sometimes when he thought no one was looking, they’d catch a glimpse of the pain swimming in his eyes. Of the tears he tried to hold back and the small tremors threatening to turn into full-on quakes. And then he’d inhale, center himself, before then returning to being everyone’s jovial, weird uncle. It was… Disheartening. But there wasn’t much anyone could think of doing. If Shiro learned anything from Keith, it was that you couldn’t force someone to talk. And Coran was as stubborn as the other Altean, if not more. There’d be no prying Coran’s emotions out of him. The only one who had been able to see beneath his mask had been Keith. But he wasn’t here.

So to make up for that fact, the team made an effort to keep Coran company between their training. Hunk and Pidge offered to help him out around the ship. If something needed fixing then they were eager to lend a pair of hands. Lance helped Coran cleaning the healing pods and anything else the older Altean deemed filthy. Shiro worked with Coran in charting their course and planning out their next steps. 

As for Allura, she made the suggestion that they begin writing down as much of Altean culture as they could remember. They wanted to preserve the memory. From holidays to fairytales and everything in between, Coran and Allura worked tirelessly to bring life back to their memories of Altea. Pidge had even offered to help run them through the translator she’d built so they could offer them in an expanse of other languages.

So yeah, plenty has happened in the past three weeks. And even between all of that they still found time to try and liberate planets. It was a slow process since Shiro had benched Lance and Allura. They had protested, of course. But Shiro had argued that they were unused to their Lions and were at risk of being more of a liability than an asset. Lance and Allura had to agree that he had a point. It just gave them more motivation to get better at piloting their Lions. 

However as of today, that would change. As would everything.

It started barely three hours after they had liberated the planet Puig. They suddenly received a distress call from their leader and with Shiro’s orders everyone was rushing to their Lions. Allura and Lance stayed up in the bridge with Coran to wait for further orders. Both were decked out in their Lion’s respective colours and were ready the moment they were needed.

After being chosen by their Lion’s, Allura and Lance had, of course, donned on the armor in their respective colours. Though for Lance’s they had to remake the Red Paladin’s armor since the first ones were... With Keith.

“ _Shiro, your orders?_ ” Came Allura’s voice through his helmet. 

“You and Lance stay behind for now. Only join us if we need backup.” He ordered just as Black shot from the ship.

“ _Roger._ ”

“ _Understood._ ”

Pidge and Hunk fell in behind Shiro the moment they left the ship. Together the three of them flew on ahead while keeping a constant update to the occupants still on the castle.

“ _It doesn’t look like it’s overrun by Galra._ ” Pidge’s suspicious tone did not go unnoticed. 

“Stay focused,” Shiro said despite his frown, “We don’t know what’s going on yet.”

“ _Shiro’s right. There could be anything happening on the surface and we wouldn’t be able to see it because of the atmosphere and distance._ ” Hunk chipped in helpfully.

“ _I’m just saying that usually we’d see ships hovering outside the planet, right?_ ”

And like her words summoned it, a ship suddenly appeared before them in a blur of colours and a flash of purple. All three Lion’s pulled to an abrupt halt at the sight of the massive ship. Then a voice cut into their open channel and rang out inside the Lions.

“ _Attention, Paladins of Voltron. This is Prince Lotor, son of Zarkon,”_ Spoke the voice as dozens of fighters began spewing from the ship like a swarm of wasps, “ _Emperor Pro Tem of the Galra Empire. Surrender now, or you will be destroyed._ ”

“ _We’ve been set up!!_ ” Pidge exclaimed in alarm.

Shiro bit back a curse and yanked on Black’s controls, “Evasive maneuvers! Everyone watch your backs!”

“ _Shiro! Do you need Red or Blue yet?!_ ”

“Not yet! Be on standby!” 

“ _Understood!_ ”

“ _You got it!_ ”

Perhaps because Shiro, Pidge, and Hunk were used to their Lions, they weren’t struggling as badly in the fight. They maneuvered around shots and blew up as many ships as they could. It was a game of dodging and firing that Voltron seemed to be winning. But then even more fighters flooded out of the ship and quickly they were becoming overwhelmed.

“We need to take out the main ship!” Shiro yelled as he shot down the three fighters tailing Pidge.

“ _How?! We’ve barely got room to avoid these fighters!_ ” The Green Paladin yelled over the coms.

Shiro grit his teeth and barely managed to avoid getting shot by several ships. He tucked Black into a roll, Hunk darting underneath him and slamming the bulk of Yellow’s body into the smaller ships.

“Allura, Lance, get to your Lions! We need extra hands out here!”

“ _Don’t you mean extra_ _ **paws**_ _?_ ” Came the cheeky response.

“ _Not the time!!_ ” Was the collective yell.

The moment Lance and Allura arrived, it was a huge relief for the other three. The drills they’d run the past three weeks were more than helpful. Lance still sometimes overshot with Red, but at least now he had a better grasp on her controls. Allura, on the other hand, struggled a bit with avoiding attacks and moving as dynamically as the others. However she was an exceptional shot and picked up Blue’s abilities relatively quickly. 

This proved useful when it came to an actual battle. The rest of the team made up for where they lacked and covered their weak points. Though they still weren’t as coordinated as they had been before Zarkon’s battle, they were getting there.

“ _I’ve got two on me!_ ” 

“ _Got your tail!_ ”

“ _Lance, watch out!_ ”

Red suddenly lurched to the side and barely missed being blasted. The fighters were then promptly exploded by two quick shots of Blue’s tail laser.

Lance let out an exaggerated exhale, “ _Whew! Thanks Allura!_ ”

“ _No problem!_ ”

“ _Shiro, do you have a plan? We can’t keep scrambling around like this!_ ”

Shiro frowned, brows furrowing as his mind worked quickly to find a solution. “Coran! How far away is the castle?”

“ _Not far! I’ll be in range to fire in just a tick!_ ”

“Good. We’re going to need you to lay down cover fire the moment you can! Team, once Coran gives us an opening, converge on me. We’re going to head straight for the ship and hit it with everything we’ve got!” 

With how they were currently, the possibilities of forming Voltron were too slim for Shiro to be completely comfortable. He knew the team wasn’t ready for it and to try now in the heat of battle would be too risky. So their only option was to fire at it one after the other.

“ _Got it!_ ” The other four shouted into their coms.

Not a moment after, the castle ship pulled up close enough to activate its particle barrier and fire at the fighters surrounding the five Lions. Following Shiro’s orders, they all collected together with Black at the forefront. He activated Black’s jaw blade and slammed the controls forward, aiming straight for the royal warship.

The fighters flying at Black were quickly dispatched by the four other Lions flanking him. Any that were missed Shiro took care of with a quick slice or tail blast. The space between Lotor’s ship and Voltron was disappearing impossibly fast. In no more than a few ticks, they’d be upon the massive vessel and ripping through its hull. 

Then out of the corner of his eye Shiro saw something white dart across just as Coran’s shocked voice shouted, “ _P-Paladins! The White Lion--!_ ” 

But there was no need for Coran to finish that sentence. Shiro yanked so hard on Black’s controls that he nearly gave himself whiplash from the abrupt stop. Behind him the other Lions also braked in their dive, Red accidentally knocking into Green and sending the two into a roll.

“ _Ack! Lance!!”_

“ _Sorry!”_

Around them the fighters instantly froze. They floated idly just as the Lions of Voltron did. However unlike the fighters, Voltron sat frozen for a different reason entirely. For floating directly in front of Lotor’s ship, almost protectively, was White. Its eyes glowed with life and its body was curled defensively, staring down Shiro and the others like it was daring them to continue forward.

“… Keith?” Shiro whispered, daring to hope.

“ _Keith?! Is that you?!!_ ” Pidge yelled into the coms. There was silence for a moment before she spoke hesitantly, “ _I-I tried opening a line to him but there’s only silence on the other side._ ”

“ _Well if it is Keith, then what’s he doing blocking our way?! We were just being attacked by that guy!_ ”

“ _But the fighters have stopped... Almost as soon as White appeared._ ” Allura’s tentative observation had everyone on edge.

Then that voice, Lotor, was speaking through their open line once more. His earlier calm drawl was now tense with something akin to excitement. “ _Paladins of Voltron, it would seem like my little test has been cut short. No matter, I believe I have learned enough. However with that being said, I wish to be granted access to board your ship. There is an important matter we need to discuss._ ”

“ _What?!_ ”

Allura’s eyes narrowed and she spat out, “ _What makes you think we’d let you come anywhere near_ _ **my**_ _ship?!_ ”

“ _Yeah!! You were shooting at us literally a minute ago!_ ” Lance yelled, Red growling over the coms like she was backing up her Paladin.

The next he spoke, Lotor sounded even smugger than before, if that was possible. “ _Because. I’m the friend Yorak has been telling you about_.”


	3. When He Awoke

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith signed those adoption papers years in advance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! Hope you enjoyed that cliffhanger~ I'm posting this chapter way early because the previous one was kind of short. This chapter is longer than the last and has some of my favourite scenes in it. I enjoyed writing this and I hope you all enjoy reading it. By the end of it, you'll probably be able to tell it was all self-indulgence. But that's fine because no one can stop me. I don't have much else to say, so I'll leave this author's note brief. Once again thank you for reading, till Friday~

“What does he mean by ‘ _Yorak’s friend’_?! Why would Yorak associate with Zarkon’s son??!” Allura slammed her hands on the table in the debriefing room.

“It’s exactly what he said. He has to be ally otherwise how would he know Keith’s name? His **Altean** name.” Pidge pointed out, glasses glinting in the light.

“But why did Yorak not say anything?! Surely he would’ve thought it pertinent to tell us an ally was Zarkon’s own flesh and blood!”

Hunk frowned form where he sat, “Can you blame Keith for keeping quiet?” He jumped slightly when all eyes turned towards him. “I mean if you think about it, it makes sense? For a long time Allura was extremely prejudice against all Galra. It’s only a semi-recent development that she’s mellowed out about it. So it would’ve probably done more harm than good if Keith said anything about knowing Lotor. And even then, none of us knew Zarkon had a son. So that would’ve been another can of worms.”

“Keith kept a lot of things secret if he thought it would be brought up somehow in the future. Recall that he knew he’d eventually stop piloting Red, however he wouldn’t tell us when that was. Because, as he said, we’d know when the time came.” Coran said as he crossed his arms behind his back.

“But how can we even be sure what Lotor says is true? What if he’s lying somehow?”

“Then how would he know Keith’s real name?”

“Maybe he got the information from somewhere?”

“But where then?! Keith was keeping it secret he was Altean. And only the Blades and Allura call him Yorak!”

“White saved him too. That’s gotta mean something.”

“Guys, settle down!” Shiro’s shout had everyone snapping their mouths closed. He had his arms crossed over his chest and an intense frown was twisting his features. Shiro let his eyes roam over them all before speaking, “We can spend days trying to make sense of Keith’s choices, but we don’t have that time. And even if we did, there’s no guarantee that we’d crack the enigma that is Keith. Our best option would be to hear Lotor out and judge from there. If he can’t provide evidence on his claims, then we don’t have any reason to let him on the ship.”

It was their best option at hand. And with no other suggestion forthcoming, they had no choice but to agree.

Currently the castle ship and Lotor’s were floating in a little pocket of space surrounded by chunks of asteroids. They’d moved here after Lotor informed them they were more than free to return to their ship and talk it over. However while Voltron returned to their hangars, White refused to budge. Last they checked, White was sitting atop Lotor’s ship, lounging like a content cat. 

“Coran, open a line to Lotor’s ship.” Allura finally said after much internal debate. 

“Yes, Princess.”

Allura squared her shoulders, standing from her seat and glaring directly at the screen the moment it appeared. It was only a few ticks before the screen flickered and was suddenly depicting a face to the voice they had heard.

Lotor was leaning forward in his chair, elbows propped on the arms and fingers laced beneath his chin. He sent a barely restrained smile towards the screen, though to the members of Voltron it looked more like a smug smirk.

“ _Greetings, Paladin’s of Voltron._ ”

“Let us cut to the chase,” Allura snapped with a fierce scowl, “It is quite clear that we don’t trust you. However… The White Lion, Yorak’s Lion, prevented us from directly attacking you. Which leans in your favor. But that still does not change the fact we have no other reason to trust you.”

Lotor nodded his head, “ _I expected as much. But I’ve been preparing for this moment for quite some time. Let’s see… Several phoebs ago my ship was broken into. One of my generals intercepted the stowaway and got into a minor tussle. However by the time I arrived I realized I knew who the man was. That was the first time in many deca-phoebs I’ve seen Yorak. He came to me asking for certain information in order to avoid a potentially harmful future. So I gave it to him._ ”

Coran suddenly sucked in a quick breath of air, garnering everyone to look at him. “The flash drive Keith got the morning the castle was corrupted. He told me he’d gotten it from a “ _friend_ ” but when I asked, he said we’d meet them when the time came.”

Everyone’s eyes widened and they looked back towards Lotor. He was still smiling, only now they could clearly see the excitement in the curving of his lips.

“ _Another instance of my help was quite recently, in fact. Nearly three movements ago, Yorak came to me in need of a device that could grant him access to Galra-coded ships. We made something quick since time was of the urgency. It was a glove meant to fool the scanners into thinking the hand it was on was Galra._ ”

This time everyone, sans Shiro, were the ones to let out gasps of shock. The Black Paladin glanced to Pidge for an explanation. She hissed between her teeth, “He did have that glove. Remember how Keith said he went to visit a ‘ _friend_ ’ that day?”

Now that she mentioned it, Shiro did remember. It was why Keith had been late on picking up the teludav. It had completely slipped his mind with everything that had happened. Lance had even cracked a joke of Keith having friends other than them! Why did no one think to ask follow-up questions about this “ _friend_ ”?

“ _Of course I understand if this isn’t enough evidence to prove that I am an ally. I have saved this for last, as it is undeniable proof that I know Yorak and I speak the truth._ ” He glanced towards someone off-screen, “ _Acxa, send the video file._ ”

There was a beep and Coran quickly typed away on a little keypad at the table. Lotor’s face became minimized on the screen while the space was taken up by a large black screen. Floating directly in the center was a box of Galra text.

“There’s a password.”

Lotor, on the mini screen, blinked in surprise. Almost like he’d forgotten about that. “ _Ah. Right. The password is Kova 02_.”

Off-screen they heard a snort and a mirth filled voice ask “ _Kova 02_?”

The Galra Prince sent them a pointed glare before looking back to the screen. “ _I will allow you all a moment to watch the video. Please contact me as soon as it ends with your verdict. Though, I do believe it will be more aligned to my favor._ ”

And with that said the little screen containing Lotor disappeared. With him no longer viewing the team, this allowed a ripple of tension to ease from their frames. 

Lance huffed, slumping in his seat and scowling at the screen. “Geez that guy is insufferable. So stuck up and sure of himself, it gets on my nerves.”

“Yeah, sounds just like someone we know.” Pidge said with a pointed smirk directed at their Red Paladin.

That earned her an offended gasp from Lance and a fist bump from Hunk. Coran rolled his eyes, wagging a hand at them. “Alright enough jibber-jabber! I’m typing in the password now so focus your peepers at the screen.”

As everyone settled down further they all wondered just what the video was. Maybe it was a slideshow of pictures showing Keith? Or perhaps it was a video of Lotor and Keith that showed how they truly were “ _friends_ ”. And as the video started, that was indeed the case. Though not the way everyone thought it would be.

The video started the moment Coran entered the password. The screen stayed black for a moment, the thumping sound of something hitting the camera repeating before suddenly light illuminated and blinded the screen. Then it mellowed out and finally revealed the narrowed eyes of a chubby-faced young Lotor.

Instantly a small “awwww! Baby Lotor!” came from Hunk. The Yellow Paladin verbally cooing what everyone was thinking.

The small Lotor appeared to only be around 8 or 9 deca-phoebs and was staring with intense focus at the camera. In the background there was someone talking softly, though Lotor didn’t appear to be paying attention. Then, when he seemed to realize the camera was working, his face lit up triumphantly. He pulled the camera so that it was smothered to his chest and then the soft tapping of his feet as he ran somewhere was heard through the darkness.

“ _Yorak! Yorak_!” Came the slightly squeaky voice which caused another round of cooing, this time from both Hunk **and** Lance. But when the name registered, it caused everyone to lean forward in anticipation.

The talking in the background had gradually gotten louder the closer Lotor moved towards it. Yet at the young Prince’s call, the voice stopped and instead huffed out an almost fond sigh.

“ _Yes? What is it?_ ”

“ _You know how you told me I’d be meeting Voltron one day and how they might not trust me? Well I figured out a way to solve that problem!_ ” Lotor rushed to say, not even waiting for the other person to respond before he was twisting the camera around.

Again there was the flash of light blinding out the screen until it settled. And what the team were greeted with stole their breaths away.

“No way…” Pidge whispered in disbelief.

There, sitting on a plush couch dressed in Galran purples and blacks, was Keith. His hair, while still being moon-kissed white, spilled down across one of his shoulders in a low ponytail that did little to trap the white strands. His skin was tinted purple, almost as if he was pretending to be Galra. However his markings still stood out in stark contrast to his lilac skin. But despite the slightly different look, there was no doubt that this was Keith.

Onscreen Keith’s eyes widened in surprise and he quickly raised the book to hide his face. “ _Lotor!_ ” His tone was reprimanding, “ _You know I have to keep my face hidden! What if someone finds this and it reveals my identity?_ ”

“ _I’ll put a password!_ ”

Keith slowly lowered his book and peered at Lotor over the rim suspiciously. “ _You’re going to make the password Kova, aren’t you?_ ”

Lotor stuttered, the camera jostling at his protest, “ _I-I will not!_ ”

“ _Uh-huh._ ” Keith rolled his eyes and sighed. He closed his book and set it aside before holding out his arms to the little Prince.

In the next moment the camera was jostled as Lotor climbed onto Keith’s lap and settled so that they both were mostly on screen. Seeing the both of them with each other eliminated any remaining doubt in Lotor’s claims. He did indeed know Keith. And for far longer than anyone here would’ve thought. It was… Jarring. 

“ _Alright what is it you want me to say?_ ” Keith asked with a chuckle. He even took the camera from Lotor so he could hold it out further and encompass the both of them.

Lotor pursed his lips as he leaned back against Keith. The little Galra swung his legs and crossed his arms over his chest, “ _Mmmm I don’t know? Say I’m trustworthy and that Voltron has nothing to fear because I will protect them?_ ”

“ _Protecting them might be a little hard seeing as how you barely even reach my hip. The Lions of Voltron could sneeze and you’d be blown away to another solar system._ ”

Lotor pouted furiously at that and turned his head to glare at Keith’s amused smile. “ _Yorak, I’m being serious! How am I to gain Voltron’s trust if you won’t help me?_ ”

The Galra-disguised Altean huffed and pinched Lotor’s cheek. The small child whined in protest, trying and failing to push off Keith’s hand. 

“ _I will help, brat. But there’s no guarantee this video will even be used. For all I know, I might barely associate with Voltron and instead work from the shadows. What will you do then if that’s the case? My word of promise would amount to nothing. You'll need to think of a different solution in case that happens. You can’t always rely on me, Lotor._ ”

Lotor’s struggling ceased and he drooped against Keith like a deflated balloon. “ _I know… I’m just worried. My father has done so many terrible things. What if they think I’m the same as him?_ ”

Keith’s smile instantly fell and he wasted no time setting the camera down just so he could twist Lotor around to face him. The screen was now at an angle, most of Keith obscured but Lotor in full view. 

The Altean’s gloved hands came up to cup at Lotor’s cheeks and tilted his face up. “ _Lotor, you may be Zarkon’s son, but you are_ _ **not**_ _him. And you never will be. You are your own person. All the mistakes Zarkon made, all the lives he destroyed and the planets he ruined, none of that is your fault. Some people might hold it against you. They might believe you to be just as monstrous as him. But prove them wrong. You can do that, you have the potential. You’re destined for great things, Lotor._ ”

Lotor let out a slightly watery sniff, his smile almost shy. “ _Did the Guardian tell you that?_ ”

“ _No, the Guardian doesn’t need to. I can see it just by looking in your eyes._ ” Keith pulled Lotor in for a hug and patted his head comfortingly. Then, after several moments of silence, he gave him a quick squeeze before letting go. “ _Now come on. We still have to go over your kentwolian pronunciation._ ”

Lotor groaned and buried his face into Keith’s chest. His complaint came out muffled but the whine was still clearly heard. “ _I hate the kentwolian pronunciation. Why does Altean have to be so difficult?_ ”

“ _It’s just this part that’s a pain. Afterwards it’s smooth sailing._ ”

Lotor leaned back in order to look up at Keith with wide eyes, “ _Promise?_ ”

“ _Promise._ ” 

With that Keith reached over, frowning as he fiddled with the camera. Lotor snickered at his confused prodding and reached out to guide his hands. 

“ _You’ve gotta hit this switch here._ ” And just like that the screen turned black and the video ended.

The entire room was heavy with silence. Everyone couldn’t seem to take their eyes off the screen. They had just witnessed a version of Keith most of them have never even seen before. 

“This was probably during one of the times Keith woke up.” Coran mumbled under his breath.

“Keith did say he woke up five times before starting his mission.” Pidge added just as softly.

From where he sat, Shiro was staring at the screen in a daze. Keith had looked so different and yet so similar it was stunning. He looked older, though only slightly compared to now. And his hair was longer, enough that it could’ve maybe reached mid-back. The smile he’d given Lotor in the video had been small and full of adoration. Almost like a father looking at their child. That thought alone led Shiro to wondering if that’s how Keith would look like if he had kids of his own. However as quickly as that thought came, Shiro was quick to bury it away. Not was not the time for such things.

He stood from his seat and cleared his throat. “It looks like we don’t have much of a choice. Keith, in the past, told Lotor he’d be meeting Voltron. And here he is now being protected by White. By **Keith**. He’s helped us in the fight against Zarkon through the shadows and only now has he decided to meet us. That must be for a reason.”

“I agree with Shiro. While I still don’t fully believe we can trust Lotor, Yorak sees something in him. Even now when he’s not even here…” Allura trailed off for a moment before determination sharpened her gaze. “Coran, call Lotor’s ship once more.”

“Yes, Princess!”

Soon Lotor’s face was back on the screen and he was watching them with that smug smirk of his. However the effect was completely lost on them all since they’d just seen baby-faced Lotor. And not only that, but now that they were looking closer, they could all see an almost nervous twitch to the corner of his mouth. 

“ _Greetings again, Voltron._ ”

“Lotor.” Allura nodded her head, “We have just finished the video. And… You were correct in that the evidence provided proves you knew Yorak. Because of this we have decided to allow you access onto our ship so you may discuss this ‘ _important matter_ ’ you mentioned.”

Lotor nodded, “ _I thank you, Princess._ ”

His attention was diverted when there was whispering off to the side. For a moment his smile faltered into a thoughtful expression. He pursed his lips before inclining his head, “ _Princess, if I may be so bold as to request the allowance of one of my generals aboard your ship as well? She would like to offer thanks to one of your Paladins._ ”

Allura didn’t seem too pleased with the idea but then she thought of Yorak and breathed in slowly. Diplomatic. She must be diplomatic. Yorak trusted Lotor enough to seek his help. And while Lotor might not have been aware of it, without his help the fight against Zarkon would have ended completely differently.

“That would be fine. Should we send a ship to retrieve you or do you have your own transportation?” 

“ _No worries, I do believe we have a proper escort._ ”

Allura nodded, “Understood. We shall meet you in the castle’s hangar.”

The call was cut and Allura allowed herself to slump. A hand on her shoulder had her glancing up to Shiro’s smiling face. “You did well. Keith would be proud.”

Allura found herself smiling at that. She rolled her shoulders back and stood tall once more before addressing the room. “Paladins, let us head down to the docks to retrieve our guests. Coran, please head to the bridge and keep an eye on the cameras. While Lotor might have Yorak advocating for his trustworthiness, the same cannot be said for his generals.”

After giving her orders they split off to go their separate ways. Only once down in the ship’s hangar did they finally think to ask how White had gotten out of the ship. Allura pursed her lip at the deep claw marks on the safety lock doors, then at the lingering heavy feel of quintessence in the room. 

Lance whistled, looking at the damage done to the doors. “Looks like clawing his way out didn’t work!”

“Either that or the idiot realized busting a hole into the side of the ship would’ve ended badly. Probably stopped halfway and wormholed out.” Pidge snorted as she watched the large bay doors open.

From where she stood beside Shiro at the front of the group, Allura crossed her arms over her chest and sighed. “Guess I’ll have to have Coran run the repair drones once this is over. But at least that tells us he’s physically not in his Lion.”

“So he’s piloting it remotely then? But from where?”

“Who knows.”

When the doors opened, White was waiting directly on the other side. It landed in the ship with a rumbling purr and laid down, tail curling around its side. The moment its chin rested on the ground and it was facing the other Paladins, the vibrating purr increased in volume till it was near deafening. 

Pidge let out a laugh that was slightly delirious and very worrisome. Maybe the lack of sleep was finally getting to her. Shiro shot her a concerned look as she took a few steps forward and pointed an accusing finger at White.

“You asshole! Don’t purr at us after disappearing like that! Where the heck are you anyways? I need to seriously kick your butt for making us worry so much!”

The small Lion rumbled, mouth opening just as the light in its eyes faded and it shut off. Pidge glared at the dormant Lion and spat out an annoyed “ _coward_ ”. Shiro chuckled, placing a hand on her head and ruffling her hair. If Keith was well enough to pilot White from wherever he was, then that was enough to alleviate some of the stress weighing down Shiro's mind. Just seeing White moving around left Shiro feeling his own kind of delirium. After this he needed a nap, maybe several. He felt ready to collapse.

Figures emerging from the White Lion’s maw forced Shiro to push aside his growing exhaustion. Prince Lotor looked just the same as he did on screen. However his mouth was twisted in childish excitement as he strolled down the ramp. Following exactly two steps behind him was one of his generals. She looked strict and well put together. Her face was deceptively blank and she radiated a no-nonsense kind of calm. 

The moment Lotor stood in front of the group and White closed its mouth, the young Prince brought a fist up to hide his excited grin. He cleared his throat, smoothing out his expression into his earlier content smirk. He then bowed the proper level for one of his status.

“I thank you for this opportunity, Paladins of Voltron. As I have said before, I am Prince Lotor.” After he straightened up he gestured to the woman behind him. She stepped forward, bowing politely. “And this is my second-in-command, Acxa.”

Allura returned the bow, “I am Princess Allura of Altea. This is Shiro, Lance, Pidge, and Hunk.”

Lotor offered a more genuine smile, “Pleasure to meet you. Yorak was kind enough to tell me your names, so it’s nice to finally have a face to put them to.”

“Sir?”

At Acxa’s soft whisper Lotor glanced at her. He blinked before nodding his head and gesturing for her to step forward. Acxa dipped her head in thanks before moving to stand in front of a confused Yellow Paladin. Hunk’s brows furrowed and he glanced at his team helplessly. Then when Acxa gave an extremely deep and respectful bow to him, Hunk started to panic. Though only just a bit.

“Thank you for your help in the Weblum. If you or Yorak had not found me, I would have most likely died.”

Hunk blinked, stunned for a moment before he let out a gasp and pointed a finger at Acxa. “You’re the Galra soldier Keith ran into! No wonder he was so sure we could trust you! It’s because he knew you!!”

At that admission Acxa’s lip quirked in a small smile. “Yes. It was quite a shock running into him.”

She was surprised by the hand suddenly landing on her shoulder and giving her several friendly pats. “Oh man!” Hunk exclaimed with a wide grin, “I’m happy we ran into you! Or well, I’m glad Keith did! I don’t think anyone would wanna be eaten by a Weblum. Those things are terrifying! Happy to see you’re doing alright after that! Did you get enough scaultrite?”

Acxa blinked for a moment before she nodded, “Yes. Again, thank you for your help.”

It was like Hunk’s friendly demeanor washed away the lingering tension in the room. The small group migrated towards one of the debriefing rooms while conversation flowed somewhat easily between the two Galra and the Voltron Paladins. 

Lance, social butterfly that he is, slid up beside Lotor and gave him a suspicious onceover. “So you’re Keith’s ‘ _friend_ ’, huh?”

Lotor blinked, glancing around like he wasn’t even sure Lance was talking to him. Had he not been paying attention to when Lotor explained that yes, he was the friend Keith was talking about? Or did he simply not understand Lotor’s phrasing?

“Er… Yes?” Lotor quirked a brow when Lance gave a judgmental hum.

“Well Shiro’s Keith’s _best friend_ , so don’t expect to level up anytime soon.” 

From where he walked a few steps behind Lance, said “ _best friend_ ” rolled his eyes. To Lotor, Shiro said, “Don’t take anything Lance says too seriously. I’m pretty sure Coran got best friend dibs long before I was even born.”

Lotor seemed to hesitate for a moment before he chuckled, “I was under the impression that Yorak didn’t take favorites. And from what little he’s told me, each one of you have your own strengths that he greatly admires. Lance, was it?”

At being addressed, Lance looked somewhat cautious. “Yeah?”

“Yorak has told me that you are quite the impressive shot. If you don’t mind, I’d be interested in seeing your skill for myself, should we have the time.”

The revelation from this admittedly handsome Galra that one of his hero’s thought he was a skilled shooter, how could anyone expect to walk away from that unaffected?! Lance instantly flushed and found himself laughing for lack of a better way to respond.

“Y-yep that’s me! Voltron’s honorary sharp shooter!! I wouldn’t mind showing off my skills to a willing audience!” He said with a loudness brought upon by nervousness. 

Pidge and Hunk snickered, sharing amused grins. They purposefully ignored the reprimanding look Shiro flashed them. There was no way they weren’t going to tease Lance about this later. He had it coming.

Conversation fell into a lull till they reached the debriefing room. Everyone took a seat around the table while Lotor stood at the head and his general took up residence against the wall. There was no need for her to be a part of this meeting, so she chose to be as unobtrusive as possible.

“Right,” Lotor cleared his throat, “Many deca-phoebs ago when I was quite young, Yorak snuck aboard Zarkon’s command center where I was being held. There he managed to become my personal attendant for about 4 deca-phoebs.”

“Four whole years? How’d he avoid getting caught?” Hunk asked in awe.

At this Lotor pursed his lips in displeasure, “If I had to guess, I assume it was because my father barely spared a moment to care about who was around me. Rarely did he involve himself in matters concerning my upbringing. I was handed off to nannies and attendants for most of my youth.” 

The bitterness in Lotor’s tone didn’t go unnoticed. A new note of sympathy was felt for the young Prince. Clearly it wasn’t easy having a tyrannical monster as a father. 

“Yorak came to me and after gaining my trust, revealed to me his true heritage. And for some reason, the Guardian felt the need to answer a question I had been asking for as long as I could remember. The Guardian told me of my mother.” At this Lotor turned his eyes to pin Allura in place, “My mother’s name was Honerva and she was Altean.”

A ripple of surprise passed through the room. Allura’s brows furrowed and she let out a soft gasp. “Your mother… Was Altean?”

“Is that why Keith taught you how to speak Altean?” Shiro asked.

Lotor nodded and smiled fondly at the memory, “Yes. He felt it pertinent to teach me about my mother’s culture since no one else was able to. For that I’m eternally grateful.” He blinked, clearing his throat and shaking his head lightly in order to gather his thoughts. “Anyways, that’s not what I’m here to talk about. During his time with me, Yorak told me of a vision the Guardian had. He said that in the vision I would be facing Voltron and that when the White Lion appears, I am to act as your guide and take you to where he is.”

“You know where Keith is?!”

“No way!”

“Where is Yorak?”

The bombardment of questions had Lotor flashing that smug smile they were quickly learning was actually one of excitement. He reached into his pocket and set down a relatively large stone on the table. Though it looked inconspicuous, Lotor’s next words suddenly put the stone into a new light.

“He’s on Oriande.”


	4. Alternate Reality

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Is it considered insubordination if you bully your leader?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hello! Thank you for the fun comments on last chapter! Now I know you all are excited for Keith to come back, but I'm afraid that'll have to wait for one more chapter u3u As you can probably guess from this chapter's title, it's going to be a fun one. So sit back and enjoy the show. Thank you everyone for reading, see you next week!

“This is supposed to be a map?” Lance pursed his lips, poking at the compass stone. “Doesn’t look like a map. Are you sure it’ll lead us to Keith?”

“It will once it’s been activated.” Lotor said with all the patience of a saint. Pidge didn’t know how he did it. This was the 8th time Lance asked that question and she was about ready to strangle him. 

“Well then you’d best turn it on! We’ll need to chart a course if we want to go and retrieve Keith!” Coran said with a wide smile. No one seemed to notice the way his left hand spasmed slightly before clenching tight.

After Lotor’s revelation and informing them the stone would take them to Oriande, Allura had moved them all to the bridge without a moment’s hesitation. Which is how Lotor found himself doing a quick introduction to Coran. Apparently Lotor was quite eager to meet him, having heard stories of Coran from Keith. He’d then expressed his desire to hear more about their adventures and Coran was quite pleased with that. Anyone who wanted to hear him speak had a pass in his book!

“That’s the issue,” Lotor said with a frown. “My meeting with you all is secret, obviously. However, it’s my belief that Zarkon’s witch is attempting to keep tabs on me. I’ve already had to do away with one of her spies and I fear more will keep popping up. This makes the time I’m able to spend on my own agenda limited. And I would very much like to join you on this expedition to retrieve Yorak. So I hope you allow me the selfish request that you wait till I am able to slip away for a great length of time before journeying to find him.”

Beside Lotor, Shiro offered a smile in understanding, “I think that’s something we can do.”

“What?!” Pidge’s head whipped around to glare at him in utter betrayal. “Shiro!!”

The Black Paladin stared at their youngest member pointedly, “Lotor has every right to be with us when we go to Oriande. He’s been a great help in the fight against Zarkon and without him, we wouldn’t even know where Keith is. The least we can do is wait a while longer.”

From where she stood in contemplation, Allura nodded her head in agreement. “I agree. And I’m sure it will make Yorak happy to see you with us.”

“Of course it will! He’ll be delighted to see you’ve gotten over your childhood fears!” Coran chimed in from the side. He tugged on his mustache and laughed playfully, “Seeing your little self worry about not gaining our trust really reminded me of when Keith and I were mere tots! Such fond memories!”

Lotor blinked, smiling confusedly. “Er… Right. But thank you for understanding, by the way. I can’t say when I’ll be able to make time to slip away, but know that I will find a way to send a message beforehand.”

“Oh, we can take care of that! Wait just a tick!” Coran quickly left the room, returning with a little communicator and handing it to Lotor. “I took the liberty of setting the password. It’s Kova 02.”

The group had the privilege of seeing Lotor flush a dark shade of purple. He stuttered out a thanks, clearing his throat before repeating himself in a calmer tone. However the smile on his face was small, almost hesitant. The good-natured teasing truly was making him feel like a part of the team. It was refreshing having others not treat him with caution just because of his status as Prince.

With the plan set, the entire ship went to see Lotor and Acxa off. Before he boarded White, Lotor was stopped by Shiro holding a hand out to him. The human smiled at the Galran Prince, “Welcome to the coalition.”

Lotor’s eyes widened in surprise before they warmed considerably. He clasped forearms with Shiro and returned the smile. “Thank you. I’m happy to be a part of it.”

There was no denying that Lotor and his generals were in a more perilous situation than the others. They were directly in the den of the beast. Even worse, if Lotor was accurate in his suspicions that Haggar was keeping tabs on him, then he’d have to be extra vigilant to avoid revealing his affiliations to Voltron. 

That night after everyone had gone to sleep and the ship was as quiet as can be, Shiro took up the little device Kolivan had left him and sent a simple message. 

“ **We found a lead**.”

Quite literally a second later the device lit up with a call. Shiro liked to think he wasn’t startled, but the way he almost dropped the com told the opposite. Thank the stars no one else was around to see his fumble. He was quick to answer and was greeted with the furrowed face of Kolivan.

“ _Explain._ ”

And so Shiro did. At first he worried about revealing Lotor’s identity, but he figured that Kolivan would find out sooner or later. Better to let him know now rather than spring it on him in the future.

Kolivan hummed thoughtfully when Shiro finished his recounting. “ _So Prince Lotor is aligned with the coalition? This is interesting. And he knows where Yorak may be?_ ”

“Looks like. Apparently Keith told him that he’s supposed to act as a guide for Voltron and lead us to Oriande.”

“ _Hmmm… So Yorak has been planning this for deca-phoebs then?_ ”

Shiro sighed and ran a hand through his hair, “Apparently? We aren’t sure yet. But we hope to ask him when we find him.”

Kolivan nodded at that, “ _Good. Knowing that Yorak is out there gives us peace of mind. Keep us updated, Shiro._ ”

“I will.”

And with that Kolivan ended the call. Shiro sighed and let the communicator drop from his hand. He brought his palms up and rubbed at his face while he laid down on his bed. So much has happened today and Shiro was still struggling to process it. Yet no matter what he tried to focus on, his mind always turned right back to a single thought.

Keith was alive and he was on Oriande.

How had he been transported to Oriande? Why hasn’t he sent White to come get him? Was he injured? Or was there a reason as to why he wanted the team to be the ones to come to him?

So many questions ran through Shiro’s mind that he was left feeling dizzy. His chest had been clenching painfully all day and it felt like his heart was giving out weak palpitations. He’d been shocked to the core when it registered that they were so close to getting Keith back. The longing he felt to be reunited with his friend was near overwhelming. Once more Shiro found himself wondering if this is what Keith felt when he disappeared on the Kerberos mission. 

The waiting around with no end in sight. The not knowing what happened. The stress that mounts with each passing day. It’s barely been a month and Shiro was already at his wit’s end. How did Keith handle a year of this? Never mind the fact he had the Guardian’s assurance that Shiro would return. Hell, Shiro has Lotor **and** the Guardian’s guarantee that Keith will come back and his concerns still hadn’t dissipated. 

Knowing Keith was out there, waiting. It just made Shiro all the more impatient. He wanted to take Black and book it to Oriande. Waiting be damned! He needed to see Keith. To hold him and reassure himself that the other was ok. 

It was a near overwhelming urge at this point. But Shiro was the leader of Voltron. He had a role to fill and a promise to keep. He couldn’t afford to throw away decorum and go off gallivanting into the cosmos. 

So Shiro forced away thoughts of finding Keith and instead buried himself beneath his covers and forced himself to clear his mind. The sooner he fell asleep, the sooner the day would come where he sees Keith again. All he had to do was remain patient. Patience yields focus, after all.

///

The next time they ran into Lotor wasn’t too long after the first meeting, surprisingly. Lotor had sent a message to the castle ship asking where they were stationed and Coran had given him the coordinates. Not 30 doboshes later, Lotor’s royal warship arrived in time to see the Lions of Voltron slam together in a tangle of metal. 

“Greetings, Paladins?” Came the Prince’s slightly concerned greeting.

Lance pulled Red up to the front of the warship, stopping just before the crimson Lion collided into it. “ _Yo Lotor! Back so soon?_ ”

“Surprisingly, yes. I managed to find some time to slip away. However, at most I have two or three varga before they notice I’m gone. I thought it wise to use this time to locate Voltron and build up our relations _._ ”

“ _Well you’re lucky we were close._ ” Pidge said as she pulled Green over to Red and nudged her out of the way. “ _Come on, Lance. You’ve got to keep practicing!_ ”

“ _I know, I know! Don’t shove us!_ ”

Lotor tilted his head to the side, watching the Lions fall back into formation once again. They flew up into the air only to fall out of line when Blue inched a little too close to green and caused a domino effect. When they were no longer spinning out of control, Blue shook her head as Allura apologized. “ _Sorry everyone, that was my fault!_ ”

“If I may be so bold, can I ask what is it you’re doing?” Lotor asked after watching the clashing once again.

“ _We’re trying—,_ ” Lance started.

“ _And_ _ **failing**_ _._ ” Pidge cut in.

“ _To form Voltron! Since Keith isn’t here, we had to shuffle some Lions! So now I’m piloting Red while Allura is piloting Blue!_ ”

From where she stood at her station, Ezor let out a thoughtful sound. “Oooh! So the little kitties are trying to form the big kitty?”

Lotor spared her a glance before directing his attention back towards the inharmonious Lions. “And how did you form Voltron when Yorak was here?”

Suddenly on his ship’s screen, Coran’s face popped up. He was smiling as always and twiddling his moustache. He raised a finger and jovially began speaking to the Prince like he was a longtime friend. “ _That’s the funny thing! Usually they only formed Voltron during the heat of battle! But because Allura and Lance still aren’t completely used to their Lions, we aren’t quite as eager to head straight into a fight!_ ”

“I see. So you’re currently in a situation where you can’t get the necessary experience to form Voltron, yet you are spending time in order to work out kinks before they prove to be a problem. A wise decision.”

“But why not do what they did before?” Ezor placed her hands on her hips, “They managed to form Voltron in battle when most of them didn’t know how to pilot their kitties. So why play cautious now?”

“I agree with Ezor. The only way to get experience in a fight **is** to fight!” Zethrid pipped in from her station.

Lotor interlaced his fingers and rested his chin on them. Zethrid did have a point. Voltron was playing cautious now, when previously they didn’t have the privilege. Perhaps it was an effect of losing one of their teammates. The fear of losing another driving them to walk on eggshells when previously they’d fly into battles without hesitation.

“Perhaps we can be of assistance? If the Paladins need proper motivation to form Voltron, I would be happy to provide.” 

“ _Oh_?” Coran raised a brow in intrigue, muting the line to the Lion’s. “ _What did you have in mind?_ ”

At the question, Lotor sent him a devious smirk. To Zethrid he inclined his head, “Scramble the fighters. They are to only fire warning shots. We are not trying to down the Lions.”

Even though her orders were clear, Zethrid still gave a feral grin. “Don’t worry. I’ll make sure they form Voltron by the end of it.”

Lotor snorted in amusement and turned his attention back to Coran. He inclined his head to the older man and was pleased to see his mischievous smirk returned. Then Coran’s little image disappeared and the communication line to the Paladins was back online.

The Altean laughed over the coms, “ _Paladins! Lotor’s offered to help you form Voltron!_ ”

“ _Huh???? But what can he do?_ ”

“ _Simple! Provide motivation!_ ”

Just as Coran said that, several dozen fighters spilled from Lotor’s ship in a swarm. Lance yelped and dodged some fire, Red overshooting and knocking into Black.

“ _Lotor, what gives?!_ ” Came the betrayed yell.

Lotor, unperturbed, crossed one leg over the other and leaned back in his chair. “Coran was kind enough to explain how you formed Voltron mid-battle when under pressure. I am only trying to recreate the scenario. Not to worry, I have given express orders to Zethrid that the fighters are to not try and shoot you down.”

“ _But they’re firing!!_ ”

“Yes, but not as much as they could be. Just a shot every seven ticks. Again, motivation.”

And indeed it was. True to his word, Lotor’s fighters weren’t hitting Voltron as brutally as usual fighters would. If anything, it was almost deceptively gentle how the battle was going. Shiro had ordered the Lions to avoid blowing up any of the ships as they were trying to use them for practice. The less ships there were attacking them, the less incentive they had to try and form Voltron. 

It was only halfway through the “ _training_ ” when things changed. Lotor gave the order and Zethrid altered how the fighters were attacking. Now a handful were shooting at a regular rate while the remainder kept the short bursts. That instantly had the Lions once more growling and tumbling in frustration. However for every accidental and purposeful shot towards a fighter, Lotor simply sent out another one to replace the destroyed.

Finally, just when it seemed like the training was a bust, the Lions converged together. Pidge had been the first to yell in frustration, Green rearing back. “ _I’ve had it with this!_ ”

“ _Yeah!_ ”

“ _Let’s end it!!!_ ”

And just like that, with their minds synched from frustration, they formed Voltron. Lotor had unashamedly leaned forward in his seat as he watched the flash of light fade and the giant mech appear before them. He even made a point to ignore Ezor’s disappointed “ _aww it isn’t a giant kitty_ ”.

“Congratulations, Paladins. It seems like the pressure paid off.” He said with brimming excitement like it was him who’d been a part of the formation.

“ _I’m glad that’s over._ ” Groaned the Yellow Paladin.

Coran barked a laugh, “ _Who said anything about it being over? Lotor, do you mind losing a couple ships?_ ”

“Of course not. Anything to help Voltron.” Lotor could practically hear the impish mirth in Coran’s answering cackle. The overlapping protests from Voltron only made the laugh all the more louder. With his own quiet chuckle, Lotor looked towards Zethrid. “Full throttle.” 

Zethrid’s grin was downright savage, “Gladly.”

///

It was another movement before they ran into Lotor again. Or more accurately, one of his generals. Once again Lotor sent a message asking for their coordinates before a ship had appeared, this one being a little fighter. It, of course, set off the castles alarms. However then the little ship sent the message “ _Kova 02_ ” and they knew it was an ally.

The ship hailed a line and it was Acxa who greeted them. She couldn’t stay long but had rushed to find Voltron in order to give them a message from Lotor. Apparently he’d found something that he thought they would find to be of great importance. So with coordinates set, they bid farewell to Acxa and went on their way.

As they drew closer to their destination, an alarm went off on the ship. This one was new, the humans aboard having not seen something like this before. 

Allura’s hands slowly rose to cover her mouth in disbelief. “It’s… An Altean ship signal.”

“Is this what Lotor wanted us to find? How did he even stumble across this??” Coran quickly typed away at his screen, glancing to Allura. 

She placed her hands on the teludav pedestals and narrowed her eyes. “I don’t know. But we’ll ask him when we next meet.”

As they drew closer to the signal, it became starkly apparent why Lotor thought it urgent to inform them. The ship seemed to be stuck in a golden wormhole of sorts. It was amazing, completely unbelievable to see.

“That looks like a Tel-Galax exploration shuttle. One of my father’s deep space vessels.” Allura said with furrowed brows.

“According to the ship’s identification code, it’s Commodore Trayling’s ship.” 

After a moment of minor debate, Allura made the decision for them to go on that ship and see if anyone was onboard. And from Coran’s observations, they learned that the energy radiating from the strange wormhole was quintessence. Voltron was their best bet at getting closer to the anomaly and finding out just what was going on.

This time it was easier for them to form Voltron. The help from Lotor had really jump-started their bond as an official team. Finally they were on common ground. And day by day both Lance and Allura were progressing in leaps and bounds. At this point, Lance was as good as he had been with Blue, if not better. Somehow, it seems like the fire Red put in him forged an even deeper bond between the two. Truly Lance was meant to pilot Red.

They gradually drew closer to the rift and with it the light surrounding them increased.

“Keep it steady guys,” Shiro said, “We don’t know what’ll happen.”

“ _My readings are going off the charts. We should’ve been ripped apart like that probe just now_.” Pidge’s voice was tinged in barely restrained awe.

Hunk tried not to whine, “ _Oof. Not really making me feel better, Pidge._ ”

When the light around the team faded, they were surprised to see the front of the ship. Looks like Voltron was built of sturdier stuff than the drone. However, this only left more questions popping up. And the only way they were going to try and find ways to solve them was by going aboard the ship.

Inside, nearly everything looked old and broken. Dust floated unhindered in the air and the lights were all off. Despite Hunk’s readings, there seemed to be no sign of life upon the ship. The deeper they went, the more suspicious they became. Something wasn’t right and it was setting them all on edge.

They explored the bowls of the ship and in the main area Allura placed her hand on a console’s screen and activated the entire thing from touch alone. The lights turned on and gravity engaged. It was a silent relief they weren’t floating through the halls anymore.

With their vision no longer shrouded in darkness, they could fully explore the room they were in. Shiro frowned at the amount of dust covering everything. There were even cobwebs hanging from certain corners of the room. Granted those cobwebs looked silvery teal, but he digressed. Cobwebs were cobwebs, alien spiders or not.

“Did the crew just… Abandon ship?” He found himself asking aloud.

Lance turned, spotting a spacesuit slumped against one side of the room. “I don’t know,” He said as he came closer, hands grasping the helmet. “But they couldn’t have gotten far without their spaces—shit!!!” Everyone turned to look at Lance after he screamed. He tossed the helmet up into the air and stumbled back, nearly tripping over his own feat in his haste to get away. “Those aren’t empty!!”

Allura’s brows furrowed at seeing the skeleton. She turned away from it and back to the screen. After typing for a second she managed to activate the ship’s most recent video log. And from the looks of things, it had been the last.

“Something’s off here.” Hunk said with a frown. 

Just as he was lifting his arm to recheck his previous scans, one of the panels above them was knocked out. Two people swathed in grays and blacks dropped in and landed before the Paladins. Both held guns trained forward, however there was no way they’d give these guys the chance to attack!

“Look out!” Lance yelled just as Hunk made a move to tackle one of the figures. They appeared surprised by the sudden move and were easily taken off their feet.

The second figure snapped their gun towards Hunk in retaliation, only for the barrel to be cut off before they could fire. Shiro’s activated arm glowed ominously as he swung it towards the other. They dodged, ducking a swing before lashing out with their foot. Shiro blocked the kick and returned it with one of his own. The stranger leapt back, looking down at their broken weapon before chucking it at Shiro.

He avoided the projectile only to hear a smack and a yelp behind him. A quick glance showed that the masked figure hadn’t been aiming for Shiro, but instead the Red Paladin behind him. 

The man used Shiro’s moment of distraction to rush him. He pulled back his hand just as a green energy sword formed along his arm. Shiro’s eyes widened a fraction and he made an attempt to raise his own arm in the hopes it’d block this attack. Could his Galra arm beat this thing? Or would it be cleaved in two?

Thankfully, he never had to find out because the man was being knocked to the side by a snap of Pidge’s bayard. The man’s mask cracked, pieces flaking off as he backtracked in order to put space between them. As more and more chunks fell away, Shiro found himself frozen in the face of… Well his face.

From where Hunk and Allura were struggling with the other man, they looked up and were also stunned by the reveal. The masked figure used this chance to slam their foot into Hunk’s gut and roll out from under him. They skidded towards the other Shiro’s side, standing close enough for them to touch.

The other Shiro spared a small glance towards his companion, reaching out and brushing his side. The other man turned to look at him, nodding before pulling out his gun and once again training it on the group before them.

Hunk winced, clutching at his side. “No way! Shiro?” He managed to say between wheezes.

Eyes turned to look at Shiro, their Shiro. “How…?”

Shiro frowned and felt something inside him tremble in unease. Why was there someone else with his face? Who were they? What were they doing here? And why did they have a mullet??

“Stay back!” The other Shiro said, voice heavy with a rather odd accent.

His companion raised their gun higher, “ _If you’ve come for the comet, you’ll never get it._ ” Their voice was digitalized from the mask, completely obscuring whoever they could possibly be. “ _I’ll die before I let it fall into Altean hands._ ”

“What the heck is happening?!”

“How is there two Shiro’s??”

The Shiro impersonator furrowed his brows in confused irritation. “My name is not Shiro.”

“Ok if that isn’t another Shiro, then who the heck is he?!”

The man beside the not-Shiro paused, turning to look at him before reaching out. “ _Sven, I think they know you?_ ”

Not-Shiro—Sven—continued to frown as he turned to his companion. “How can they? I don’t know them!”

A nudge to his side had Shiro looking down. Pidge made a pointed gesture to Sven then to Shiro’s own helmet. Getting the gist of it, Shiro reached up and quickly pulled off his helmet. Now it was both Sven and his companion’s turn to be surprised.

“You… Have my face!” Sven exclaimed.

“I think it’s the other way around, buddy. This is Shiro’s face! He had it first!” Lance snapped hotly. No way was he going to let this crazy impersonator think Shiro was the one stealing faces!

Sven shook his head, “This can’t be possible. How can you have my face?”

The man beside Sven lowered his gun before bringing a hand up to his mask in thought. Then, suddenly his head shot up and he barked out a laugh. He grabbed Sven’s wrist and shook it incessantly. 

“ _Sven, Slav’s notes. Do you possibly think they’re from…?_ ”

“What?? No, don’t be silly!”

Pidge’s eyes widened as her mind worked quickly to figure out what was going on. With the signs gathered so far and the stranger’s mention of Slav, this only further proved her suspicions. "This is an alternate reality!” 

“Huh?!”

“I think,” She said slowly with a look around the room, “When we passed through that glowey, explode-y area, we entered an alternate reality!”

The masked man snapped his fingers before placing a hand on his hip. “ _Ah see! Told you it was like Slav’s theory! Alternate realities!! He’s going to enjoy hearing about this!_ ”

Sven grimaced, “Don’t tell him or else we’ll never hear the end of it!”

“ _But he’s so entertaining when riled up! Plus, you make the funniest angry faces when he gets talking.”_

Allura had no time for whatever banter was going on between the two. She wanted answers and she wanted them now. The Princess took a step forward, hands clenched firmly at her sides. “Why did you attack this ship and its crew?”

Suddenly the gun was snapping up to point at her once again and the earlier ease the masked figure had was replaced with tension. “ _Stay back, tyrant._ ”

Allura was flabbergasted, “T-tyrant??”

“We found the ship like this.” Sven said as he raised his sword. 

There was a beeping sound before the masked man was looking at his wrist. He pressed against the side and a screen appeared, text flying past that had him gasping.

“ _Quiznak, more Alteans. Their scanners must have picked up your arrival._ ” He closed the screen with a growl and stowed away his gun. “ _Great, just what we needed._ ”

Allura was reeling. Had she heard him correctly? Did he really say…? Could she dare to hope??? She didn’t get the chance to ask for clarification as Sven was already grabbing the man’s hand and pulling him under the vent they emerged from.

“We have to go.” To Voltron he said, “If I were you, I’d run.”

Then the man, far slighter than Sven, literally picked him up and tossed him up towards the vent. Sven swung in, turning around and reaching out a hand to catch the other guy’s as he leapt up. With a grunt, Sven pulled him into the vent and together the two disappeared.

Silence permeated the air for a moment before Lance chanced a glance at his team. “What… Just happened?”

“Did he just say we were being boarded by Alteans??”

“Yeah, and he also called you a tyrant. What’s up with that?”

Allura huffed, “Never mind that! I want to know if what he said—!”

She was cut off as clanging sounds came from the only other door in the room. With every passing second the noise increased. It sounded like… Footsteps? Just as the thought passed through their minds the doors opened. In came several Altean sentries followed by two actual Alteans and one unnamed alien.

Allura paid no mind to the blasters directed her way, nor did she take a moment to check on the status of her team. Her eyes were trained straight on the burgundy haired Altean as she walked further into the room.

Her gasp was soft and heavy with disbelief. Could it really be…? “Alteans.”

The woman stopped, her brows furrowing. “It can’t be…” Then she was kneeling before Allura, the others around her doing the same. “Empress!”

With that word alone a new influx of questions filled the room. The explanations were brief but filling. They learned that in this reality, Allura had been an Empress 10,000 deca-phoebs ago and had established the Altean Empire. That in this reality, Altea was alive and thriving thanks to her. 

Then they were brought to the comet and Pidge suited up in her Lion to run scans. To her and everyone else’s surprise, this comet was made of the same material as Voltron. It explained quite a bit about Voltron and how it was able to do so many cool things. However, when the scientist contacted Hira, his wording put Pidge on edge. For some reason, it was sending off warning bells that sounded oddly like Keith saying “ _Don’t trust them_ ”.

While Pidge and the others worked with the scientist, Shiro had followed after Allura and Hira. Like Pidge, he too could sense that something was off. The way Hira worded things was confusing and left him unsettled. He’s heard this kind of talk before back in the arena. There was something going on and it was raising all of Shiro’s red flags. However, with just one look at Allura, he knew she wasn’t going to listen to him. She was too enraptured by Hira’s story and the idea of Alteans being alive. But he couldn’t just sit back and say nothing.

“This isn’t right.” His interruption had both Hira and Allura looking towards him. “You’re taking away their free will.”

Hira looked unimpressed, “The same will that would end your life with no remorse. Thanks to us, no innocent will have to lose its life to the free will of an evil being.”

As Hira kept talking Shiro realized with stark clarity what she was trying to do. She was manipulating Allura. Shiro has seen this before time and time again. Hira was using Allura’s pain at being one of the last Alteans in order to get her on Hira’s side. She was dangling the prospect of visiting Altea like a prize. All Allura had to do was comply and follow like a dutiful hound. Well not if Shiro had anything to say about this.

Back with the other Paladins, they too were coming to the conclusion that something was wrong with these Alteans. As they were swapping their own ideas on what might be going on, one of the panels to a vent popped open and startled them. There, crouched side-by-side was Sven and his companion.

The alternate reality Shiro waved, smiling. “Yoo-hoo! Up here!”

“Woah! How’d you find us?” Lance exclaimed.

“ _Followed your energy._ ”

Either they ignored the implications of that or perhaps they didn’t even realize what was admitted. Pidge filed that away for future analysis and looked up to the two of them, “We need to get to Shiro and Allura and find a way to keep the Alteans from getting that comet.”

“ _Already on it. We just need your help with something and we should be good to go._ ”

The sound of guns powering up had everyone snapping their attention towards the noise. A collective gasp escaped the group as they realize they’d been caught.

“Perfect!” The Altean scientist exclaimed, “I had a feeling the Guns of Gamara were on this ship. But I didn’t know Empress Allura’s friends would be working with them.” He raised a hand and flicked his fingers, “Bring them down and round them up. I’m sure Hira would enjoy knowing we’ve found the little pests buzzing around our ship.”

Two of the sentries moved forward and pointed their guns up at Sven and his companion. With no other choice, they were forced out of the vents where they were cuffed just like Pidge, Lance, and Hunk.

They were escorted through the ship with Altean sentries surrounding them. As they walked at gunpoint, it didn’t go unnoticed how Sven tried to shield his shorter companion from view. Though the attempt was futile given the situation. 

“What is the meaning of this?” Allura’s shocked gasp was the first thing that announced their presence.

Smiling, the Altean scientist gestured towards Sven and his friend. “Empress, the Guns of Gamara have infiltrated the ship. These people were working with them. And Commander Hira, something else I think you’ll find of interest…”

Suddenly a hand snatched out and grabbed the man behind Sven. The alternate universe Shiro’s eyes widened and he rushed forward in an attempt to stop his companion from being pulled away. “Hey! Let him go!!”

Sentries moved in, grabbing Sven and holding him back while the scientist presented the Gamara member to Hira. Ignoring the other’s futile struggling, he reached up and pressed a button on the side of the helmet. Instantly the visor that had been obscuring his face disappeared and finally revealed the person beneath.

The man had short, snowy white hair and crimson markings beneath his violet eyes. A jagged scar cut across the side of his face, running down his left eye and nearly rendering him blind. His ears were pointed, one of them nicked like something had sliced through. Despite the slight differences and lazy smirk on the man’s face, there was no way they couldn’t recognize just who this Altean was.

However before any member of Voltron could utter the name on the tips of their tongue, Hira stepped forward with a darkened look of pity. “Prince Akira. So this is where you’ve crawled off to.”

“Hira, looking as nasty as always.” Keith—No, Akira, said with his lackadaisical smile.

“Tell me, Prince, is the Guns of Gamara everything you hoped they’d be?”

Akira shrugged a shoulder and grinned, glancing behind himself at a concerned Sven. “Even better, I’d say. Their members are pretty cute.”

Hira clicked her tongue in obvious disgust, “How do you sleep at night.” 

It was a statement and not a question, but the shit-eating grin sent her way broadcasted that Akira was going to answer. “Oh I sleep pretty well, actually. Sven keeps me nice and warm at night.”

Behind him, Sven made a choking sound and blushed, Lance and the others no better. Though Akira sounded completely different than Keith, he still kind of had the same face! So imagining Keith saying these things was of course going to pop up! And then that just led them to thinking of Keith saying them about **Shiro** and it was a wonder none of them burst out laughing in hysterics. It probably had to do with the fact that they could sense this was a tense situation, so the laughter would have to come laughter.

The smile on Akira’s face dropped away and the serious look that replaced it was so strikingly similar to Keith’s brooding look. It sent a sharp pain of longing through Shiro’s heart that he adamantly tried to ignore.

“Hira, you and the rest of Altea have turned this universe into an army of slaves. Peace for the price of freedom. This is not the Altea I believe in and I refuse to ever let myself or my blood be a part of it. The line of Altean royals dies with me.”

Allura looked stricken. Both at the revelation that this reality’s Keith was apparently the last of Altean royalty and also the things he admitted. “Slaves?”

Growling, the scientist glared at Akira and shook him harshly. “Non-Cogs are not slaves! It’s you that cause war and destruction. We are going to scan that brain of yours and find the locations of every rebel base. Then finally our wars can end. Afterwards, we’ll see about that bloodline of yours.”

“Don’t even think about it!” Sven spat as he once again struggled to free himself.

Shiro, from where he stood, could see the flash of fear in Akira’s eyes. He tried to cover it up with another languid smile, but Shiro had seen the cracks. He instantly knew what this Akira was doing. Just like his Keith, this one covered up what he was feeling with a mask. However, Akira seemed to choose a façade of lazy nonchalance while his Keith picked to be brooding and mysterious.

“Allura, you can’t let them do this!” He turned to her, pleading for her to make the right decision. From the moment Shiro saw Akira’s face, he’d felt a strong urge to defend him. It seemed like no matter the universe, Shiro would always ache to protect Keith. 

Allura turned beseeching eyes to Hira, voice wavering slightly. “Hira please. We both want the same thing. Peace.”

“Do we?” Hira quirked a brow, “Your weakness brought ruin to Altea at the hands of the Galra. We have brought peace and order to ours. And, with this comet, we will bring our peace to _every_ reality.”

Allura closed her eyes in acceptance at Hira's words. When she opened them, there was a fire of determination that burned like a star. “Not as long as I am standing.”

She brandished her bayard, crouching as she readied for battle. Beside her Shiro was the same, his hand activating with a threatening hum. There was no denying the way Hira seemed to sneer further at the sight of obvious Galra tech. The way her face twisted made it look like she sucked on a lemon.

“Absolutely revolting.” She spat.

“Oh, did you finally get a look at your reflection?” Akira’s cheeky comment had the Altean commander whipping around to glare at him. 

“Escort his highness to the ship’s prisons! We’ll take him back to Altea once this is all over!”

“Oh I don’t think so.” Akira’s smirk turned absolutely feral just as there was an explosion. The ship shook with each blast that went off, leaving everyone scrambling for purchase. “Sven, now!” 

Akira’s call was the catalyst they needed for the fighting to begin. Shiro charged forward, cutting down one of the sentries while Sven called a “ _dog pile_ ” and led the other Paladins in a pileup on another. Akira kicked his foot out and swiped the Altean scientist’s feet from under him. He was pulled to the ground as well, however he used this chance to straddle the man and smash his own head down with a vicious force. There was a crack and the scientist wailed, blue blood spilling from his nose and his glasses broken from the impact. 

Allura rushed towards Hira, bayard activating into an Altean energy whip that she used to lash out at the commander. Hira jumped away to avoid the attacks and raised her hand to catch the whip around her gauntlet. With her other hand she pulled out a small pistol, aiming at Allura only to be taken by surprise as the Princess yanked hard on the whip. Hira flew over Allura’s head and landed behind her with a heavy thud.

“Let’s go!”

Together, after ditching their cuffs, the group of rebels rushed down the halls and towards their Lions. Along the way they were blocked by sentries. Lance was stuck in the line of fire, unable to dodge in time to avoid the hit coming for him. Then, out of nowhere, Sven jumped in the way to take the blast for Lance. With a pained cry he collapsed onto the ground, Akira’s scream of his name deafening over the blaster fire.

The Altean Prince snarled like an animal, using his own blaster and taking out each of the sentries with vicious accuracy. He then rushed to Sven’s side, picking him up to cradle him in the crook of his arms.

“Sven! _My star, my love! Are you alright?? Please, speak to me!_ ”

Allura nearly tripped in her haste to get over to the two. Pidge sent her a look, only understanding a few of the words spoken in Altean. The expression on the Princess’ face only amplified her curiosity more.

“You saved my life.” Lance breathed in near awe.

Sven forced a chuckle, wincing at the sting. “Oh I’ll be fine. Just get me to space hospital?”

Akira rolled his eyes and leaned down. The moment his lips brushed Sven’s in a deep and intimate kiss, the Voltron Paladin’s all collectively lost their shit. Heads snapped to zero in on Shiro and they watched as his face went from shocked to scarlet in a matter of seconds. He quickly averted his eyes only to jump when he caught sight of his team staring at him. That only made him blush darker and look up at the ceiling to avoid eye contact.

“Don’t ever scare me like that again.” Akira whispered against Sven’s lips when they separated.

Sven chuckled, pecking the corner of Akira’s mouth. “Of course, your majesty.”

Akira could see that the pain from the blaster fire was sapping away Sven’s strength. He caressed his cheek for a moment before looking back up to Voltron. “You get to your Lions, I’ll handle Sven. Get the comet, make sure they won’t be able to spread their infection to any other reality!”

In any other situation they might have been reluctant to leave Akira and Sven behind. But time was of the essence. However before they could leave, Akira called out to Allura. She stopped, turning to look at him. “Yes? What is it?”

Akira bit his lip and glanced off to the side, “Empress-er… Princess Allura, I’m not proud of what my people have become. And from your reaction, I can tell you’re just as broken up about it as I am. I called you a tyrant before and for that I’m sorry. You’re nothing like the Allura in this reality. And for that… I’m thankful. It’s inspiring to me. And if I’m being honest, I really wish it’d been you that was my grandmother instead of this reality’s Allura.”

Akira didn’t seem to realize he’d stunned everyone from the other reality. He picked up his unconscious partner and slung him over his shoulder without any effort. “We’ll be alright. You guys focus on the task at hand.” And without waiting for a response, he brandished his blaster and disappeared down the hall.

“Did he just say…?”

“Not now!! We can have a freak out later!” Hunk urged and one by one they all spilled out of the airlocks and jetted over to their Lion’s.

“Come on, team! We can’t let them get that comet!” Shiro said as he activated Black. “Pidge, scan for its location! We’re taking it with us!”

“ _On it!_ ”

“Team, form Voltron!”

The comet was quite bigger than Voltron. However, thankfully gravity was nonexistent in space so they didn’t have to worry about the weight.

“ _We need to find exactly where we came in or we might not make it home_!” Pidge called as her fingers worked furiously over her console. 

Voltron dodged the lasers shot at them from behind and thankfully that was all they had to worry about. Since the ships weren’t pursuing them, Shiro had a moment to think that maybe Akira and Sven did something. However thinking about the two led Shiro to thinking about the kiss they shared and he was once again blushing in embarrassment. For a moment he’d pictured him and Keith doing something similar. And Shiro was trying desperately to forget what his traitorous brain was thinking. He just missed Keith, is all. Nothing romantic about it. Just one friend missing another in a totally platonic way.

In felt like ages before they burst through the rift and landed back in their own reality. Voltron floated away from the comet, stunned with tendrils of energy running along its frame.

“ _Paladins! Can you hear me?_ ” 

Lance nearly let out a wail at hearing Coran’s voice. Oh how he missed that jovial tone!

“ _It seems you were successful in removing the comet._ ”

Everyone jolted slightly, “ _Lotor??!!_ ”

On their screen appeared a little image of Lotor standing beside Coran. Behind him, they could see Acxa and three others, no doubt Lotor’s generals. 

“ _Greetings Paladins. Apologies for not personally relaying the comet’s location to you. But as you know I was caught up handling my role._ ”

“ _Dude, how’d you even know about the comet in the first place??_ ”

“ _Perhaps we should save the questions till you are all back on the ship? Also, it would be best to get the comet onboard as soon as possible. We don’t want to risk anyone stealing it, after all._ ”

“ _You worry too much!_ ” Hunk laughed, “ _No one else knows about the comet, right? So it’s fine!_ ”

While that may be the case, Shiro had to admit Lotor had a point. He took up his controls and sent out the order for his team to do the same. After shaking off their paralysis, Voltron picked up the comet and deposited it within the ship before splitting up and returning to separate hangars. 

They met up in the bridge and Lotor gave a brief introduction to his other three generals before explaining how he’d stumbled across the comet. He confirmed their theory that it was the same material Voltron had been made from. However he also revealed that Alfor had been the one to track down the comet’s signature and sent a team out to locate it. It was, apparently, the comet Alfor hid from Zarkon.

“But the comet is completely useless if one does not know how to properly harness its potential. Your father was able to discover the secrets of the comet thanks to his teachings on Oriande.” Lotor said to finish his explanation.

Allura crossed her arms over her chest, “So either way we’ll have to travel to Oriande if we want to find a use for the comet. But what could we even do with it?”

“You could always mess with Yorak’s kitty and make it like your kitties.” Ezor hummed from where she lounged. 

Pidge shook her head, “Not possible. The Lions were built _with_ the comet. Keith’s Lion is already built. At most, we’d just be able to put a shard in it to give it a power source? But Keith would probably say no to that.”

“Yorak’s Lion is set apart from ours because it holds no comet. It can’t transform and the only consciousness it has is from its pilot. There’s no knowing what ramifications there might be if we suddenly place a piece of the comet into it. We might just have to leave the comet behind on Oriande.” Allura said from where she stood.

“Leave it? But that would be a waste of a vital resource. What if we add more of it to Voltron? Surely that might increase the strength of the Lion’s.”

“Ooooh Lotor’s got a point. Like melt the comet down and then stick Voltron in it like a little energy bath!”

“Whaaaat? Get real Hunk. Where’d we even find a bath big enough to dunk Voltron?”

“Maybe do the Lion’s individually then?”

“But then we’d have leftover comet water! The Lions aren’t sponges you know.”

Shiro sighed, crossing his arms over his chest and fighting an amused smile. “Alright enough. We’ll hang onto the comet till we get to Oriande. Then from there we’ll talk to Keith about it.”

That seemed like the best answer. With that out of the way, Lotor finally allowed himself a moment of unhindered curiosity. “So… What was on the other side?”

“Oh dude, you wouldn’t believe it!!” Lance exclaimed like he’d been eagerly waiting for someone to ask. And then he proceeded to colorfully describe the wild adventure they got up to in the other reality. He pulled back his enthusiasm a bit when discussing Hira and the choices made by the other Alteans. But after skirting on that a bit, he was quick to eagerly gush about how shocking Akira’s reveal had been. “So in that universe Keith is an Altean Prince named Akira and he’s Allura’s grandson! Oh and also!!!” Lance grinned slyly and slid up next to Lotor, bringing a hand to his mouth like he was about to whisper a secret. Lotor dutifully bent down so Lance was closer to his ear, curious. 

“Alternate reality Keith is dating alternate reality Shiro!” Lance stage whispered.

“Oh?” Surprised eyes turned to a flustered Shiro.

“Lance!!”

Pidge grinned and pushed up her glasses, “He’s not wrong. They even kissed.”

“Ooooh!” Came Ezor’s unhelpful coo. She sent Shiro a Cheshire grin that did little to help his blush.

Hunk gasped, flailing a hand. “And now that I think about it, Akira was flirting with Sven even when we were captured!”

“Guys don’t speculate. For all we know in that reality kissing is… Common amongst friends.”

Allura had the decency to cover her mouth with her hand in order to hide her giggles. “Perhaps. But Akira clearly said in Altean ‘Sven, my star, my love’. So I think Lance is right in his little theory.”

Pidge made a sound of excitement, “I knew he was saying something about Sven being his star!”

Shiro huffed and scrubbed at his face with his hand. Ok, so alternate reality Keith was dating alternate him. That didn’t mean anything! Shiro wasn’t dating Keith in this universe, after all! No reason to get embarrassed! The small part of Shiro that felt disappointed at that was mercilessly crushed and tossed aside.

Lotor snorted and crossed his arms over his chest in contemplation, “While that is infinitely amusing, I must ask. Shiro, why make excuses for them? It’s not your relationship with Yorak we’re talking about. Its two strangers from an alternate reality. Unless there’s another secret Yorak was keeping from us?”

With a sinking feeling Shiro suddenly realized that Lotor was teasing him. The wide smirk sent his way was only further proof. Shiro would deny it to his grave, but he did let out a small whine before burying his face in his hands. 

“Guys, seriously!”

There was raucous laughter and a few hands even patted him sympathetically. Lance slung an arm around Shiro’s shoulders, pulling him close. “Don’t worry man, we totally support you if you wanna take the Akira-Sven route. Heck, I’ll even teach you a few pointers on flirting! I am the master, after all.”

“Yeah, master at failing.” Pidge snorted.

“Hey!”

Allura chuckled, “I think Lance’s little flirts are adorable.” Shining blue eyes turned to her, hope practically overflowing from their oceanic depths. “It reminds me of a cute little Yelkanak trying to get my attention.” And instantly that hope was crushed and turned into ash.

Now the laughter was no longer being directed at Shiro and was instead at their pouting Red Paladin. He took it like a champ, sticking his nose in the air and declaring he’d be going on Lotor’s ship since his team was being so mean. Lotor had merely smiled and said he was welcome any time, but that he’d best not try flirting with any of his crew members. For emphasis, Zethrid had made a crushing gesture before smirking at Lance. Like a wilting flower the poor Paladin scurried back to hide behind Hunk.

The warm amusement lingered and acted like a soothing balm for Voltron over everything they experienced today. And despite the teasing he went through and would no doubt continue to go through, Shiro found himself enjoying every moment. Fleetingly, he wished Keith was here. At least that way he could enjoy the merriment too. And maybe be the one getting teased instead of Shiro.


	5. To Come Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team finally make the journey to bring their friend home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hello everyone! And here we are at chapter 5! So I know I'm only five chapters in, but I will be taking a break. I've got midterms and I've also run out of chapters that are ready for posting. I don't know how long the break will be, sorry! I can only recommend checking my twitter for updates. Please keep in mind that I will not respond to comments asking me why I haven't updated when next friday rolls around. If you didn't bother to read the Author's Note then that's not my problem. With that being said, thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy this relatively long chapter!

Pidge ducked into a roll and avoided the staff that swiped at her head. It hit the ground behind her with a loud clack before coming at her in another arching sweep. Pidge barely had a moment to dodge, the purple Marmora blade raised to block the staff.

She grit her teeth at the force exerted from the staff and how it was forcing her wrist to bend at a near painful angle. With a loud cry, she summoned her bayard in her other hand and thrust it upwards. The bladed tether shot out and wrapped around the Gladiator’s neck, electricity rippling along the green wire and stunning the bot.

Pidge used its slackening weight to slip from beneath the staff. The young Paladin then dropped her bayard in favor of gripping the short dagger with two hands and charging forward on swift feet. There was the crunch of metal from Pidge jamming the blade into the Gladiator’s side, penetrating deeply from the power behind her strike. 

The Gladiator, in this short amount of time, recovered. It slammed its staff into Pidge’s side and sent her into a roll several feet away. She leapt to her feet the moment she stopped rolling, hand hovering just above the green lines along her thigh armor. There was a flash and the Green bayard was once again in her hand, ready to be used.

Pidge huffed, sweat forming along her temple and trailing down her face. She brandished both weapons at the training bot, eyes narrowed. “Come at me, you hunk of junk!”

However just as the bot shot towards her, Coran’s voice came in through the intercom. “ _Number 5, report to the bridge! We’ve just received contact from Lotor that he’s ready for us to get Keith!_ ”

Pidge gasped, taking a hit from the Gladiator and slamming into the mat with a thud. She groaned, holding her stomach and blinking away the tears in her eyes. As the bot advanced towards her, she managed to cough out a croaky, “End… Training sequence.”

The bot froze mid-swing before straightening and disappearing beneath the floor panel. Now that she was left alone in the room, Pidge coughed once more before saying aloud, “I’ll be down in a sec!”

“ _Roger that!_ ”

Pidge allowed herself a moment to recuperate before she peeled herself off the floor and over to where her towel and water packet were. She tucked Krolia blade back into the sheath at her waist and let her bayard dissipate before grabbing her stuff and leaving the training room. As she left, she downed half the contents of her little water packet with a few quick gulps. 

Outside the room she ran into Lance, the Red Paladin quirking a brow at her sweaty appearance. “Hey. Hard at work?”

“Yeah. I’m trying to get better with Keith’s knife.” Pidge wiped at her face with the green towel, “Though I guess now I’ll have to give it back.”

“Eeh who knows. Maybe if you ask nicely, Allura will make you a knife.” Lance nudged her with his arm.

Pidge barked out a laugh at that, “Maybe. It’d suck to let all my training go to waste.”

“And once we get Keith back, he can train you to be even better.”

The two of them reached the bridge not long after and found the rest of the team at their stations patiently waiting the arrival of Lotor. Said Prince’s face was on the screen, brows furrowed as he piloted the fighter he was in. “ _I am as far out from any Galran base as I can be. My generals are heading in the opposite direction in order to provide me an alibi should someone ask._ ”

“Please send us your coordinates and I will open a wormhole right away.” Allura said as she placed her hands on the Teludav.

Not long after, Lotor’s little ship was appearing through a wormhole and docking in the castle’s hangar. He then made his way to the bridge and smiled in greeting the moment the doors opened.

“Hello, Paladins. Exciting day, yes?”

“That’s an understatement! We’re going to Oriande! And we’re getting Keith back!” Lance said with a grin.

“I’ll be opening a wormhole near the Patrulian Zone. Lotor, please take a seat.” Allura said as a form of warning. Lotor nodded, taking the empty Blue Paladin chair. Because Allura was manning the Teludav, there was no need for her to use the seat. 

“Everyone, stay on your guard.” Coran spared a glance over his shoulder, “The Patrulian Zone was deemed unsafe for a reason. If this is truly where Oriande is hidden, then we need to be careful. Ships that go into the zone are seldom heard from again.”

Coran was right to have a hint of caution. Yet despite the real danger they were heading into, no one could find it in themselves to be concerned. After all, they were so close to finding Keith and bringing him home. There was no room to be so wary with all the excitement coursing through them.

Allura guided the ship through the wormhole and the moment they were through, everyone let out soft gasps of awe. At first they had assumed it was an asteroid field, yet as they drew further in, they realized it was a graveyard of ships. Large hunks of metal and shrapnel floated undisturbed from their permanent graves. It was a literal sea of remains. 

“What do think caused them all to lose power?” Hunk asked after they passed a few torn up ships.

“No one knows,” Coran frowned, “Though if I had to guess it might have something to do with the Guardian. Either that or Oriande itself.”

Pidge looked up from her screens, mouth set into a grimace. “Maybe. Or it might just be whatever’s up ahead…” She said as the ship drew up higher over the grave line. 

Suddenly light flooded into the bridge as their view was no longer obscured by ship shrapnel. In the distance they could see a massive column of light, wispy wafts converging in on it and condensing into a large swirling mass at the base. There was a visible gap between the colossal celestial and the ship wreckage, almost like there was a force putting distance between the two.

Pidge gasped, eyes wide and shining in wonderment. “That’s a white hole!” 

As she began explaining to the team what a white hole was, Lance suddenly let out a shout. “Guys, look at this!!” He enlarged something on his screen and sent it Coran’s way. The older Altean then blew up the picture on the castle’s main window, an enlarged image of something appearing.

They squinted, making out a huge metal body with broken robotic limbs hanging off the side. It looked beaten up, hunks of metal shredded and leaving it barely recognizable. But after fighting that thing up close and personal, it was hard for most of them not to remember it.

“That’s the Robeast we fought! The one Keith had us kick into the wormhole!” Hunk blew out a stream of air, hand coming up to rub his forehead in disbelief. “So he sent the thing here?”

“Well what better place to get rid of it?” Pidge gestured to the white hole, “That thing’s energy most likely shredded it the moment it got near enough. Keith probably put the Robeast as close to the white hole as he could.”

Lance grunted, “You figured he’d do that for all the Robeast we went against. Would’ve saved us a lot of time and bruises.”

From up in front Coran rolled his eyes, “You know he couldn’t do that. Not without blowing his cover so early on. And besides, if he got you all out of every scrap you might’ve run into, you wouldn’t have learned anything! So it’s a good thing he didn’t let you take the easy way out!”

“While that’s all well and good, we still have a problem.” Allura crossed her arms over her chest and stared towards the white hole still churning endless energy. “What do we do now? Where is Oriande?”

Eyes turned to Lotor, the Galra Prince holding his chin in one hand while he mulled over his thoughts with intense focus. They heard him mumbling to himself, words heard clear in the silence of the ship. “The wise stand back from the fire, fools are burned on the pyre. The mystic becomes one with the flames, the embers and he are the same…” Lotor lowered his hand as realization slowly changed his expression, “I see… That was a poem by an ancient Altean alchemist. I found it carved onto the walls depicting Oriande. Who would have thought that it was actually describing the route itself?” He turned to Allura with a determined glint in his eye. “We have to go into the white hole.”

“Are you serious? We’re following instructions from cave poetry now?” Hunk asked bewilderedly. 

“How do you even expect us to get into the white hole? It’s expelling everything that goes near it! And anything that does get close enough gets torn apart.”

“Pidge has a point. There’s no guarantee this is even where Oriande is.” Shiro argued from his seat.

Lance quirked a brow and pointed at the screen, “Ok, but that Robeast is here! Why would Keith send it to this place if he didn’t already know about it? Just because the Patrulian Zone was dubbed the space equivalent of the Bermuda Triangle, doesn’t mean he knew the Robeast would end up the same way as all those other ships. Keith sent it somewhere he knew for sure it’d be taken care of. He left no chances for it to come back. And besides, Keith gave Lotor that compass stone and it led us here. Shouldn’t we trust that Keith wouldn’t send us to our deaths?”

“I want to trust Keith’s judgement too, but we’ve got to be rational about this. What happens if the ship gets power cut the moment we get close enough? What then? Best case scenario is that the power won’t turn back on and we’ll end up suffocating.” Pidge pursed her lips and glared at the screen she was typing away at. “Worst case scenario is that we’re turned into mangled mush before even getting that far.”

Allura hesitated, contemplating both sides of the argument. While Shiro, Hunk, and Coran were advocating for holding off and forming a better plan, the rest of the team were in support of diving right in. Pidge was neutral on the matter, her desire to find Keith warring with the logical part of her brain and leaving her drawn between the two options.

Biting her lip, Allura closed her eyes and tried to think of a solution. What if they used Voltron to get through? If anything could survive the volatile energy of the white hole, it was Voltron. But what then? What if Voltron didn’t make it? What if this was a dead end?

No. Allura couldn’t afford to think that way. This was where they were meant to be. She could feel it deep in her heart. She had faith that Yorak was not leading them astray. And if Yorak put his trust into Lotor being their escort, then it was her duty to follow his guidance.

“I’m going to wormhole us into the white hole.”

“What?!”

Everyone’s head snapped to look at Allura. She took their flabbergasted stares in stride and continued on in a confident tone. “Yorak trusted Lotor to act as our guide to Oriande. We need to have faith that where he’s leading us is the right path. If we wormhole in with Voltron, we should be able to go farther than the castle ship.”

The team could see the merit to her words. Hunk even shrugging and saying, “She has a point. If Voltron can jump through realities without a problem, then who’s to say it can’t survive a white hole?”

There wasn’t a better option, not at this current time. And they were too close to turn back now. So forward they would go. Coran and Lotor stayed aboard the castle ship just in case, while the rest of the team formed Voltron and flew out. As both men watched the ship fly towards the wormhole, Coran whispered softly. “I hope you’re right about this…”

“As do I. Yorak never told me what to do should I get this far. I fear the repercussions should I have lead you all astray.”

Coran’s hand clenched the console in front of him hard enough to make the object creak. However his grip loosened almost as quickly like it’d never even happened. He breathed out through his nose and his moustache twitched, a hand coming up to pull at the end. “Keith seems to have the habit of withholding information. But not to worry. The next time we see him, I’ll make sure he breaks that habit.”

Lotor glanced wearily at the Altean and the not-so-subtle threat he had just made. Out of caution and his instincts telling him to move, Lotor took a few steps to the side and put some distance between the two. Coran didn’t seem to notice, much to Lotor’s relief.

They watched as Voltron disappeared through the wormhole and charged forward the moment it reemerged. Shiro called for full thrusters and slowly they were pushing back against the force of the white hole.

“ _We’re… Making progress!_ ” Allura gasped out, teeth gritted from the strain.

Through the shared consciousness of Voltron they could feel the intensity of the white hole. How it pressed down upon them and tried to rip Voltron off course. They were all letting out small groans from the pressure, but still they refused to give up.

“ _Almost… There!_ ”

As they drew closer to the heart of the white hole, there was a deep rumble that cut through their minds. At the center of the white hole, glowing eyes appeared, the visage of a lion’s head following soon after.

“ _Is that… A lion?_ ” Lance asked as the beast materialized further from the white hole.

“ _It’s the Guardian_!”

Just as those words left Allura’s mouth, the lion’s jaws parted. They could feel the vibrations of the roar shake through Voltron just as a bright beam exploded from the lion’s mouth. They were blasted back and shaken from the tumble, struggling to right themselves and avoid another blast.

“ _I don’t understand! Why is it attacking us?!_ ” Allura gasped.

“ _Keith!!! What the Hell man?! Call off the Guardian!_ ”

“ _Can’t it tell we’re allies?!_ ”

Lotor listened to the yells of the Paladins as they relentlessly dodged the attacks thrown at them. From where they were, neither he nor Coran could make out what was going on inside. All they could see were the blasts of light that broke through the white hole’s vortex. That, accompanied by Voltron’s cries, was making a sour streak of anxiety twist Lotor’s stomach into knots.

“Something’s wrong,” He said, hands clenched at his sides. “The Guardian shouldn’t be attacking them. It should be able to sense we are allies. Voltron!” He raised his voice to emphasize the urgency, “You need to get out of there!”

“ _We’re trying!_ ”

“ _Team, pull back!_ ”

Suddenly a beam burst through the white hole’s column of light. With perfect accuracy it hit the castle ship, washing over the particle barrier in a relentless torrent. Both Coran and Lotor’s eyes widened in horror as they watched the barrier explode and finally the ship itself was hit. They were jolted slightly as the ship’s lights flared red before everything tuned black.

“All systems shutting down!” Coran shouted over the ship’s alarms. Both he and Lotor lurched forward as the ship tilted to the side, their feet sliding against the polished floors. “Our stabilizers aren’t working! We’re listing into the graveyard!”

Voltron turned around to rush back to their aid, the Guardian shooting out another beam that hit them directly in the back. The Lions broke apart in a flash and they too suffered like the ship. Not a single Lion was responsive no matter how hard the Paladins tried to call to them. With no other choice, Shiro gave the order for them all to rendezvous at the castle. There they gathered around and tried to strategize on their next move.

“At least we know we’re in the right place?” Lance grimaced and rubbed his bruising arm. “Could’ve done without being attacked, but I guess it’s the best kind of defense system this side of the cosmos.”

“So we found the doorway to Oriande. Now what? Our Lion’s don’t work, the ship doesn’t work, we have a limited supply of oxygen, and at this rate we’re really going to have my best case scenario to worry about!” Pidge ran a hand through her hair in frustration. “Without any power there’s nothing Hunk, Coran, and I can do about the dwindling air. We’re on a time limit.”

Hunk rubbed at his face, “Ok what if we use the energy from the white hole in order to try and revive the castle?”

“But we’d have to reconfigure the entire system! Plus to us, a white hole had just been theoretical physics not half an hour ago! There’s no time for us to make a new method on harnessing the energy! Besides, the radiation levels themselves would make it extremely difficult!” 

“Oh! But it the Rocein-Dodasnd gets hooked up to the Nmwal then maybe we can get some form of power?” Coran suggested to the two.

“But you need an Oncaw for the Nmawl to hook up to anything other than the Anuddl! And the only Oncaw we’re using is hooked up to the ship’s Bnalas wires!”

The three of them huddled together, frantically offering suggestions only for them to be shot down just as quickly. They were clearly getting nowhere and as Pidge said, they only had a limited amount of oxygen before things got complicated.

Allura hunched over the pedestals for the Teludav, trying desperately to spark some life into the ship through her quintessence alone. She let out a frustrated sigh when her efforts garnered no results.

“Princess Allura,” Lotor moved to stand beside her, watching her with a gleam of concern in his eye. “I want to apologize for putting us in this situation. If I had known we’d meet this kind of road block, I would have spent longer planning a route for us to take.”

She sighed and offered a small smile, “It’s quite alright. You couldn’t have known this would happen.”

“Yeah, man!” Lance somehow materialized beside the two and good-naturedly nudged Lotor’s side. “At least you made sure you’d have enough time for delays without anyone getting suspicious, yeah?”

Lotor chuckled at that and inclined his head towards the Red Paladin. “Perhaps. Though, I could do without the impending suffocation we’ll all suffer through.” 

“Can’t Galra survive in the vacuum of space?”

“Can you?”

With several different conversations going on, a faint sound that echoed through the halls was almost lost. For the humans it was impossible to hear. But for those with enhanced hearing, the faint roar instantly caught their attention.

Allura, Lotor, and Coran all snapped their heads towards the door, staring with an intensity that drew the concern from their team. “Did you hear that?” The Blue Paladin whispered.

“Hear what?”

Now that they were all silent and listening, the roar this time was more easily heard even by the humans. Shiro’s eyes widened, “It’s White.”

Instantly the group of them rushed from the bridge and to the ship’s hangar. The closer they drew the louder the roars became. It was near deafening by the time they opened the door and poured into the hangar. 

White was standing with its eyes glowing and tail lashing impatiently. Its jaw was open mid-roar, the metal clacking shut at the sight of the group. Giving a pleased rumble, White settled to lay down on the ground. Then it open its mouth and let out another insistent chuff. 

“I guess we found our way in.” Lotor said, a dry attempt at humor.

Pidge’s face broke into a grin, “Well what are we waiting for?” And without waiting for a response she scurried over to the ship and rushed into White’s maw.

“Ah, no fair! I want to get the pilot seat!” Lance yelled as he dashed after her.

Shiro sighed, smiling wryly and looking to the rest of their team. “We all better go with. There’s nothing we can do while the castle ship is down, anyways.”

As the remaining members filed into White, Coran was the last to go. He stood just outside White’s parts jaws, looking up into the illuminated eyes with an impassive face. Then he nodded and patted the Lion’s chin. “ _Don’t flinch_.” Was all he said before making his way inside.

It was a little crowded in the cockpit with 6 people standing and only one sitting. Pidge, being the first inside, had taken the only seat available. That left everyone else with no choice but to try and find purchase and hope to the stars they weren’t knocked around like a Ping-Pong ball.

“This is Yorak’s Lion?” Allura asked, looking around in wonder. 

“How does he pilot it? There’s no controls.” Lance frowned as he stared down at the empty console in front of the pilot seat.

“Keith pilots it through his quintessence.” Shiro explained, having been one of the few who have witnessed Keith fly White before.

The lights inside the Lion flared brighter and suddenly White was standing. Everyone jolted at the abrupt movement and only had a moment to scramble for purchase before White was springing forward and tearing across the castle ship’s hangar. Just when it seemed like White was going to smash into the bay doors, the Lion roared again and a white wormhole appeared. They leapt through and emerged on the other side in a flash. White only paused a moment to let their passengers get their bearings before it was darting off again towards the white hole.

The smaller Lion dived under wreckage and twirled around in artful spins, looking elegant and beautiful on the outside. However on the inside was another story entirely. Every twist and turn managed to throw the occupants around without a care. Allura tripped and landed in Lance’s arms, the Red Paladin having a moment of flustered elation before the momentum was tipping him backwards and he was falling into Lotor’s arms with Allura in tow. Coran stumbled and would’ve face-planted into the back of White’s chair if it wasn’t for Hunk and Shiro both reaching out hands to steady him. Then Coran had to get a hold of both men before they slipped from White’s sharp turn. And Pidge, the only one in a seat, clung to the arms and screamed along with everyone.

“Is this to get me back for when I flew Blue the first time?!” Lance yelled when White gave a particularly sharp dip. There was no way Keith wasn’t doing this on purpose. He could’ve flown above the graveyard line to avoid the scrap and broken ships! Keith was shaking them like a rattle just for fun!!

Thankfully he eventually seemed satisfied and stopped jostling his friends after a while, changing trajectory to head straight for the white hole. They watched as White darted past the slumbering forms of the Voltron Lions and into the turbulent waves of the white hole. The smaller Lion cut a direct path towards the center and pushed past the strain with very little effort. Even when the eyes of the Guardian appeared at the center, White continued charging forward. There was a collective holding of breath as the Guardian’s jaws parted in preparation for a roar. Then they were blinded from the flash of light.

They could feel White slowing down into a stop beneath their closed lids. For a moment they feared that not even White had made it past the Guardian. One by one they opened their eyes and let out gasps of awe and shock. The light cleared and before them laid the surface of a planet that was familiar to only one of them.

The surface had large pinkish lakes surrounded by thick canopies of trees in shades of purple and green. In the distance they could see mountains stretching up towards the lilac sky, pink clouds surrounding them and hiding the peaks away from sight. Dotting the horizon in various sizes were large chunks of floating land, some having glowing blue markings etched into the sides.

“It’s Oriande…” Shiro whispered breathlessly.

Inside the cockpit, White rumbled as if to agree. The smaller Lion stayed floating in the air for a while longer, simply letting everyone take in the sights. Then it flew forward, passing chunks of floating land at a relatively slow place. 

“Woah look at that!” Pidge exclaimed, pointing with her finger at a string of birds that flew just beneath their ship.

“There’s animals here?! No way!” Lance and the others crowded around the window in hopes to catch a better glimpse of the birds.

Coran blinked, “Those look like a Northern Silver Hobfona!”

“Could there really be Altean creatures here?” Allura wondered aloud, a hand coming up to cover her mouth. The sights before her were near overwhelming in their beauty. The pure contentment she felt in her heart was strong enough to move her to tears. For some reason she felt like she was meant to be here. Without a doubt Allura felt like she belonged.

Beside her Lotor whispered, “If anyplace might have things from Altea, it would be Oriande. Perhaps we might be able to explore the land sometime in the future…”

A sight before them stole away any further ideas of conversation. On the ground nestled in the center of a deep canyon and directly in front of two sloping mountains was a glittering structure. The light hit the building and made it seem to glow as they approached. They could see a courtyard of sorts and pyramid-like erections that stuck up from the ground. Their eyes raked over everything they could see from White’s cockpit and, in their wondrous excitement, they almost missed the small figure standing directly in the center of the courtyard. 

Hunk was the first to notice, letting out an excited gasp and pointing his finger. “There!!”

His exclamation had everyone following his finger and zeroing in on the person. There were thrilled cries of “It’s Keith!” and “Yorak!” as White slowly descended. Everyone was already rushing from the cockpit before White even fully touched the ground. They eagerly waited for its maw to open and then they were spilling out of the Lion, crowding around just outside its open mouth.

Standing several feet ahead of them was Keith. He was smiling softly, white hair pulled into a loose braid that spilled over his shoulder. Wrapped around his neck was a crimson cloak with a hooded cowl attached, blue broaches pinned on either side. Underneath he wore a simple Altean tunic and pants in muted reds and whites.

He tilted his head, one corner of his mouth quirking higher into a crooked grin. “Hey.”

Pidge sucked in a sharp breath of air and felt her eyes burn. “Keith…!”

However before anyone could move, an orange blur shot past the gathered team and rushed at Keith. There was a sharp crack that rang out and in the next moment Keith was on the ground. Coran stood over him, fist raised and eyes blazing in a rare show of anger.

“Holy shit, Coran!” Lance yelled in shock.

“Coran! What are you doing?!”

Coran ignored them, hand snatching the front of Keith’s cowl and yanking his upper body off the ground. “That,” He started, voice sharp, “You Quiznaking piece of shit, is for knowingly dying on us without saying anything!”

To hear Coran curse left everyone stunned into silence. The only one who seemed unsurprised by his volatile fury was Keith. He merely stared up at his friend in quiet understanding, blue blood trickling down the corner of his mouth. 

“You didn’t have to keep quiet about it! Do you know what you put everyone through?! What you made them feel?!!” Coran shook Keith with every sentence. Still Keith remained silent, letting Coran get out all the pent up emotions he’d been suppressing since the battle. “Did you even stop to think for a moment that maybe we could have helped?! And even if that wasn’t possible, that there was nothing we could do; at least we wouldn’t be spending days thinking you died!!! We wouldn’t have to be standing there mourning someone who wasn’t even gone! We wouldn’t have to spend nights staying awake wondering if we could have done something differently! Wondering if it was our fault for not doing more, for not being there to help! I’ve already lost Alfor, do you think I could handle losing any more of my family?!” Coran shook Keith once more before he was dropping to his knees and dragging Keith into a crushing hug. Keith returned the gesture, fingers gripping Coran’s clothes hard enough that the fabric threatened to tear. 

The anger fled Coran and he deflated, a bone-deep weariness left in its place. He spoke with a voice drowning in sorrow, his body shaking. “No more, Yorak. No more keeping quiet about these things. I don’t care if you think it might protect us. If you know something that serious might happen, you have to tell us. Please.”

Keith’s breathing hitched and he pulled Coran even closer, “I… I know. I’m sorry, Coran.”

The two stayed like that in silence, cling to the other for what felt like ages. Then with a small sniff Coran pulled away, ignoring his misty eyes and instead raising a hand to wipe the blood from Keith’s chin. “All I ask is that you try to not keep us in the dark. We’re your team, Yorak. If you can’t even rely on us, then what good are we for?” Coran’s thumbs brushed beneath Keith’s eyes, chasing away the tears forming. He smiled, gaze shifting to look at the group still lingering at the base of White’s paws. “And speaking of team…” He raised a hand to gesture to the group, “Well? Come on then. I’ve had my moment, come over and have yours!”

Pidge needed no more prompting before she was rushing forward. She dropped to her knees and slid into both Keith and Coran, their arms already out and ready to catch her.

“You ass!!” Pidge practically yelled, arms wrapped tight around Keith’s neck. “Don’t you dare do that to us again!!”

In the next moment Keith was being surrounded on all sides by his team. He didn’t mind the fact he felt like he was being squeezed within an inch of his life. It was more comforting than suffocating. Keith was once more overcome with the urge to cry from how content he felt being surrounded by his friends. Only now did it hit him how much he missed this. How much he missed **them**.

Keith noticed something from the corner of his eye and turned to see Lotor standing at the edge of the group. He was shifting from foot to foot unnoticeably, eyes darting towards Keith before looking at the ground in a rare show of uncertainty. 

“Lotor,” Said Prince’s head snapped up at the call of his name. Keith smiled warmly at him, a hand extended towards the other. “You did good.”

The pride in his voice was heard loud and clear. Lotor visibly stiffened, eyes glistening like Keith’s words alone were enough to drive him to tears. The young Prince ducked his head to avoid any eyes seeing whatever shameful expression he might’ve been making. He shuffled forward, Pidge and Hunk making room for him to kneel next to Keith.

Lotor hesitated, arms making aborted motions at his sides as if he wasn’t sure how to go about expressing the emotions he felt twisting inside his heart. And for all they knew, that was probably the case. So what kind of team would they be if they didn’t help their newest addition?

Keith was the first to move, yanking Lotor forward and hugging him tight. He pet his head comfortingly, whispering to him in Altean, “ _It’s fine, brat. You can let go. You’re among friends here._ ”

Lotor made a soft choking noise, hands scrambling to hold onto Keith like a child desperate for their parent’s reassuring touch. And then more arms were wrapping around him and encasing him in warmth. Lotor felt his throat close and his chest burn, hands shaking from where they clung to Keith’s cloak. 

It was unknown how long they sat there on the ground. Time didn’t matter to the group, not when they were being overwhelmed with such relief at having their missing member back. And, not only that, but they were providing a shield of comfort for their newest friend. The one who arguably needed it the most.

Eventually when Lotor’s shoulders stopped trembling and he exhaled slowly, Keith let his arms slip away. One by one they all let go and gave the Galran Prince some space. He cleared his throat, pushing some of his hair from his face and wiping away any glistening tracks leftover. He was thankful no one mentioned it and allowed him a chance to collect himself.

Finally Keith sighed, patting his shoulder before standing. “Alright. I’m sure you guys have a lot of questions.”

“No shit, Sherlock.” Lance rolled his eyes and grinned.

Quirking a brow, Keith smirked. “Fuck you, Watson.”

With a gasp of mock offense, Lance placed a hand to his chest and stuck his nose up in the air. Keith chuckled fondly at the dramatics before he paused, glancing over his shoulder towards the entrance of the large building. “Though… It looks like we’ll have to put a hold on that.”

Eyes followed where Keith was looking and they could see standing at the entrance was the Guardian. The apparition seemed to speak to Keith, for he nodded and turned back to his friends who were slowly standing.

“What do you mean?” Allura glanced between the Lion and Keith, brows furrowing.

Beside her Coran suddenly gasped, “P-Princess! Your marks!”

It was then they noticed that the Altean marks on Allura’s face were now glowing. And not only her, but Lotor’s face suddenly had markings as well. When Pidge pointed that out, Lotor’s eyes widened in shock and he reached up a hand to brush where the marks were. His brows creased for a moment before he was looking at Keith in shocked understanding. “The Mark of the Chosen…” 

Keith nodded, “Alteans with a higher inclination to magic have the potential to be chosen by the Guardian to go through the trials.”

“Is that why Coran’s marks aren’t glowing?”

Having it pointed out made Coran purse his lips slightly, coughing into his fist. “Well not all Alteans are magically gifted. The royal family always had an influence in magic. And from the bits I remember of Honerva, she was also an extremely gifted alchemist. So it isn’t that odd that they’re chosen and I’m not.”

“About that,” Keith glanced at Coran, “The Guardian is willing to make an exception, if you want. It feels like you deserve the opportunity.”

Coran seemed visibly surprised at this. However in the end he smiled and shook his head. He didn’t even need to think long on the matter. Despite the opportunity being presented to him, Coran didn’t feel the need to take it. “I’m quite satisfied as I am now, thank you. Besides, there’s enough magically strong Alteans around me. I’m content being the only normal Altean in this group.” He said with an amused grin.

Keith chuckled at that and patted his arm sympathetically. Then to Allura and Lotor, he flicked his head towards the entrance. “Off you go, then. We’ll be here when you get back.”

Allura was hesitant to leave at first. But a reassuring nod from Lotor had her following after him up the steps and after the mystical white lion. Once they disappeared from sight, Keith sighed and scratched at his head. “They’re going to be in there for a while. In the meantime why don’t I show you around?” Keith waved his hand towards the large building, “This is the Temple of Oriande. It’s the central hub and the root of all Altean alchemy. And that’s about it. There aren’t any other buildings on Oriande so tour over.”

There was a pause before Hunk was breaking out into laughter. The Yellow Paladin slung an arm around Keith’s shoulder and pulled him close into a side-hug. “Aaah it’s good to have you back, buddy! You missed a lot!”

“Oh? Like what?”

“Well for starters, Lance and Allura have gotten pretty good at piloting their Lions!”

Keith hummed, inclining his head towards Lance. “I did notice the uniform change. Red looks good on you.”

Lance made an amused huff before placing his hands on his hips. “No thanks to you. I had to get my entire uniform remade because you decided to go Houdini on us.”

Both Coran and Keith squinted in blatant confusion, Keith looking to Shiro for clarification. The Black Paladin’s smile was gentle and he chuckled softly, a wave of nostalgia making him feel warm all over. “He’s a famous magician known for his escape acts.”

Coran snapped his finger, “Oooooh like a Spotted Back Pu-lua?”

“No, a Spotted Back Pu-lua camouflages itself to match its surroundings. It isn’t actually escaping or disappearing.” Keith pursed his lips, “I’d say they’re more like a Blorpin fish.”

Sputtering, Coran waved off Keith’s words exaggeratedly. “Ha! Now you’re just being silly! A Blorpin, he says!”

From the sidelines the few humans shared a glance in their own form of confusion. Pidge, the only one gradually learning Altean, also shrugged. She hasn’t gotten that far in her lessons to know every animal that had been on Altea.

Pidge shook her head and stepped forward in order to break up the small debate Keith and Coran had gotten themselves into. Loudly clearing her throat, she unstrapped the scabbard from her waist and held the sheathed blade out to Keith. “Here. I hope you don’t mind, but I’ve been holding onto this for you. I’ve… Also been training with it.”

Keith’s eyes lit up at the sight of his mother’s blade. He ran his fingers over the worn leather of the sheath and his smile turned warm. “Thanks Pidge.” And when the rest of her words registered he grinned, “Have you gotten any good?”

Pidge puffed out her chest in pride as she recounted her training against the Gladiator. Keith would nod and hum in thought during her recounting, grinning and ruffling Pidge’s hair when she finished. “Well guess I’d better change up your training regimen to include knives, huh? What else have you guys been up to?”

“Ooh oh!!” Lance suddenly gasped and flapped his hands in excitement, “We went to an alternate reality and there was other Alteans!!”

“And an alternate you and Shiro! Except alternate you was named Akira and he was Allura’s grandson. And alternate Shiro was named Sven and had a funny accent.” Hunk added just as excitedly.

Keith’s brows rose in surprise and he turned to look at Shiro. The other hesitated before nodding almost reluctantly. He **really** hoped the team didn’t mention the nature of Akira and Sven’s relationship. However knowing them, they probably had been waiting ages to tease both Shiro **and** Keith about it.

So with Keith’s insistence they all sat in the courtyard and told him the antics they got up to during his time away. Keith listened, enraptured, as Lance, Hunk, and Pidge dramatically retold their escape from the tyrannical Alteans. They even reenacted when Sven took the shot for Lance, Pidge in the role of Sven while Hunk was Akira and Lance was himself.

It was hard for Keith to hide his snorts of laughter behind his hand. With tears burning the corners of his eyes, he glanced to Shiro and shared a look of deep amusement with him. “I’m guessing it was probably more moving in person?” He whispered as Hunk dramatically declared he would be nothing without Sven and that Sven couldn’t die on him.

Shiro nodded, “Less embellished.”

Keith held his chin and hummed while watching Pidge wistfully wax poetics about Akira’s eyes in an accented deep voice. “I think it gives it character.”

With a snort Shiro shook his head like he couldn’t believe Keith was even saying that. Still his smile remained, even leaning close to press his shoulder against Keith’s. When the other didn’t move away and instead leaned into Shiro’s touch, the Black Paladin felt something loosening inside his chest. 

He sighed softly, fingertips brushing against Keith’s hesitantly. “It’s good to have you back, Keith.”

There was a soft smile and then Keith was resting his hand atop Shiro’s. They shared a look, an unknown emotion flashing between them for a moment. With cheeks flushed a light blue, Keith ducked his head and watched their hands with a soft, radiant smile. “It’s good to be back…”

The gentle moment between them didn’t last long. All it took was Coran’s gasp of “ _they’re back_!” and the warm bubble was popped. Shiro and Keith’s sprung apart like they’d been burned, each one cradling their hands to their chests. Instantly they were missing the warmth the other provided, but were reluctant to reach out again and recapture any lingering heat that might remain. Despite the sudden awkwardness that settled over their shoulders like a blanket, Keith still flashed Shiro a reassuring smile. Whatever it was that just passed between them was fine. It wasn’t enough to make Keith weary of Shiro. And to prove this point, he let his hand brush against Shiro’s wrist before he turned his attention to the two exiting the building with the Guardian at their side.

Lotor was walking in an almost daze, staring down at his hands in wonder. He almost tripped from his distracted walking, but a steadying hand from Allura kept him upright. The Guardian pressed itself against Lotor’s side and, with Allura’s help, guided the stunned Prince down the final steps.

As everyone rushed to crowd around the two, they could see that the Altean marks on Lotor’s face were more prominent. Previously they’d gone unnoticed simply because they were the same colour as his skin, yet now they were a darker shade of purple, almost bordering on red in certain lights. With this his Altean heritage was by far more prominent than before. Almost like the Guardian was bringing forth his connections to his Altean ancestors and displaying them for all to see. It was a reflection of the pride Lotor felt for his heritage. A way for him to proclaim to everyone that Altea lived on within him.

Beside him Allura was beaming like a radiant star. Her eyes shined and her smile was so wide it hurt her face. They stopped in front of their friends, the Guardian chuffing before slipping past Allura and Lotor and moving to rub against Keith’s side. He hummed, fingertips trailing through the misty mane before the spirit disappeared on a stray breeze. 

With its departure, Keith squared his shoulders and addressed his team, “Come on. I promised to answer your questions, didn’t I?”


	6. Revelations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some things are revealed and new problems arise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hello! During this break I took from updating, I've managed to plan out some things further. However in my planning I realized there would be no good way to make use of clone Shiro. So I've come to the ultimate decision that I won't be devoting much time to it, if any at all. I know this might disappoint many and, though I'm truly sorry, but it's just how it is. As an apology here's a silly picture I drew. Hope you like it! :> https://twitter.com/NeonCandies/status/1238582623544283136?s=20

“So what happened to you? How did you disappear from Red like that?”

Keith sighed, leaning back in his chair and staring up at the ceiling with pursed lips. “Where to begin… So you know how I’m the Guardian’s vessel, right? Well in a way that’s quite literal. I have a piece of the Guardian’s quintessence that I carry inside me, just as it has a piece of me that it carries. It’s for… A failsafe of sorts. With this piece of the Guardian, I’m able to save myself should I be put in a situation where I would die.”

A wave of confusion passed over the gathered coalition members. “What do you mean? Is it like a game’s revive item?” Lance asked on behalf of the team.

“Sort of?” For those like Allura and Coran who never played a video game like Earth’s, he elaborated. “Say I end up drowning somehow and die before you guys can try to resuscitate me. The piece of the Guardian I hold would bring me back. Kinda like a second life.”

“Ok… But if you have a second life, then what happened to it? Why didn’t it work in the fight?”

“Because I gave it away.” The weight of Keith’s words had everyone freezing. He sighed, “I can only carry one piece of the Guardian at a time. Too much and it overwhelms my body, makes it break down. However I’m able to give that piece away. I’ve only done that twice so far. Once was for my father on Earth, the other was here for Shiro.”

Sucking in a sharp breath of air, Shiro clenched his hands in his lap. “That was why I had that vision during the battle with Zarkon.”

Keith nodded, “I didn’t know what would happen during the fight and I’d rather be safe than sorry. So I gave my piece of the Guardian to Shiro. I figured since he was Black’s pilot, he’d be getting the brunt of Zarkon’s attention. And it turns out I was right. When Voltron’s sword ripped through Zarkon’s armor, something happened. I-I’m not entirely sure what it was? I think the tainted quintessence inside of him self-destructed and tried to consume Voltron’s in order to keep him alive. However it started with the head and went down. It tried to consume Shiro’s quintessence but because he had that piece of the Guardian, he was protected.”

Lotor frowned and cradled his chin in thought. “So it went down to the next piece of quintessence available.”

“Basically.” Keith ran a hand through the loose hair framing his face and pushed them back. “In the end it more or less evaporated my body? Which is why I disappeared. And why my Red Paladin armor is gone.”

“But wait! If you got vaporized then how were you able to come back?? There was no body for the Guardian to revive!” Hunk had a point. Though no one wanted to think about Keith being physically eviscerated, there was no avoiding it. Not when it was the main topic of conversation.

Keith bit back a sigh and tapped a finger against the table of the debriefing room. They had gone back to the castle ship not long after Allura and Lotor passed the trials. After Allura restarted the ship and wormholed them out of the Patrulian Zone, they migrated to one of the debriefing rooms just to have a **long** chat with Keith.

“You know that piece of me the Guardian has? Apparently it took it for a reason. Should anything happen to my body that it can’t repair with the quintessence piece I hold, then it will use that piece of me it took and forge me a new body.” Keith frowned and his gaze turned distant. “After that large flash, I had a vision like Shiro’s.” He said, having been told about Shiro’s vision earlier.

“Next thing I knew, I was standing in an empty realm that burned like fire. But despite the flames around me, it was actually peaceful. Like a warm campfire instead of a forest fire. When Red started talking to me, I realize that she had nabbed my soul the moment my body disappeared. She put it in her conscious realm to protect it. I was hanging around in there for a while, you know? Only about a week.” He trailed off, glancing at Pidge. “But I could see and hear everything that was going on outside, thanks to Red.”

Pidge scowled and crossed her arms over her chest, “I’m not apologizing. I’d do whatever I can to find you even if it meant not sleeping for a couple of days.”

Keith’s smile was resigned like he expected such an answer. “I know. Anyways, Red refused to let my soul go until the Guardian assured her that I would be fine. She then ejected my soul and the Guardian more or less slam-dunked it into the body it made for me. I guess dying and then jumping bodies took a lot of energy, so I was too weak to do much of anything. I laid and slept for nearly two weeks just to regain my energy.” Keith paused and turned a pointed glare to Lotor. The Prince jolted, fighting hard not to break eye contact. He knew from the look in Keith’s eyes that he was going to be scolded. The least he could do was brace for it like a man and not a kit. “And when I was strong enough to finally pilot White again, imagine my surprise to hear that you were **attacking** the people you were supposed to be earning the trust of. Care to explain, brat?”

Lotor had the decency to look a little sheepish at suddenly being put on the spotlight. He cleared his throat, the embarrassed flush on his cheeks causing his new markings to stand out. “Right. I meant to apologize for that. You see, at first it had not been my intention to plot a trap for you all to run into. However I figured that suddenly receiving a message from Zarkon’s offspring would instantly put you on guard.”

“And attacking us wouldn’t???”

He grimaced, “Er… In hindsight I can see my error. Though I promise I had no intention of actually harming any of you. I made sure Zethrid kept the fighters at a level only meant to challenge, not eliminate.”

Pidge quirked a brow at that before she blinked. Brain working quickly, the Green Paladin’s eyes widened for a moment. “Ooooh I see. You were testing us.”

“More or less. Yorak had spoken greatly of Voltron and I wished to see for myself if his praise held merit. Though I understand that Princess Allura and Lance were still getting used to their Lions, so my judgement on their skills would have been lacking. However knowing this, I still wished to see how far along they’ve come.” Lotor offered a sincere smile, “I apologize for any unnecessary stress I may have caused due to my actions.”

Hunk chuckled from where he sat, giving Lotor a thumbs up. “It’s all good in my book, man. I’m just glad you’re on our side.”

“Yeah! The more allies the better, ya know? Just don’t ever do that again.” Lance added the last part with a pointed glare.

There was scattered laughter, the mood lightening considerably since the start of the conversation. However the only one not partaking in the amusement was Allura. She was still frowning, brows wrinkled and her arms crossed over her chest.

“There’s still something that’s bothering me…”

Her words brought attention to her, the Princess looking up to lock eyes with Keith. “If the Guardian is able to use the piece of you it has in such a way, then if it ever came to it, could you do the same?”

A hush fell over the group and all eyes turned to Keith. He looked stricken, face paling at the thought. Then, with a heavy swallow he closed his eyes like he was seeking an answer from the Guardian itself. The slight twitch of his brow gave away his annoyance, his pursed lips further hinting at the fact he didn’t get a distinct answer.

“I don’t know. But I hope it never comes down to it.”

//

Lotor couldn’t stay long after that. He had a façade to keep up and he didn’t want to draw any more attention to himself than he already had. So after sending a message to his ship and getting their coordinates, Keith offered to take him to his ship with White.

“You sure?” Shiro had asked in obvious concern.

Keith merely smiled at him and said, “Yeah. I want to say hi to Lotor’s generals while I’m at it, anyways.”

And so with that Keith and Lotor piled up into White and set off. It was only when they were flying out of the castle ship that Keith spoke. “Have you found anything yet?”

Lotor frowned, “I believe so. Zarkon’s witch has tried very hard to keep her personal projects away from me. However thanks to Ezor I have managed to find the location of where her little experiment is being made.”

“Good. Next chance you get, destroy it. I don’t want to risk whatever it is she has planned coming to fruition. Especially if it involves Shiro.”

As they flew through the wormhole Keith opened up, the Altean could sense something on the other’s mind. Though thousands of years may have passed, he was still the same brat Keith remembered. Which meant he didn’t have to look hard to see the questions Lotor wished to ask. “What is it?”

Lotor startled before chuckling ruefully, “I see you’re still able to read me as well as always. Am I really so open even after all this time?”

“Lotor.”

Sighing, Lotor’s smile pulled into something more like a grimace. “Forgive me if I’m overstepping, but don’t you think it would be best to start telling the others about the rest of your visions?”

“I never promised that I would.” Keith could tell that his response only caused Lotor’s frown to deepen. Biting back a sigh, he let White sit idly in space the moment they emerged from the wormhole. He twisted around in his seat to look over at Lotor, “I know what you’re thinking. But this is the one thing I don’t want them to know about. After this I’ll stop keeping them in the dark, I promise. But I can’t let Shiro learn about this.”

“We aren’t even sure how far Haggar has gotten with her project. Yorak, I know you are trying to protect Shiro but you’ve seen what keeping quiet has done to your friends. You would also be hurt if they did the same to you.” Lotor stressed with a deep frown.

“And what would you have me do? Tell Shiro and the others that Haggar has been cloning him?? That I saw a vision of her overseeing the production as it was first starting?? I can’t risk Shiro believing he’s a clone. That he isn’t the real thing.” Keith clenched his hands so hard they began to shake. “I **know** Shiro. I know how he’ll react. That’s why I don’t want him knowing about this. **Ever**.”

“Then why do you not handle it yourself?” Keith’s head snapped up to look at Lotor. The Prince held up his hands, lips quirked in a placating smile. “Make no mistake, I’m not shirking the responsibility you’ve bestowed upon me. I am simply curious as to why you do not handle this yourself. I could give you the location on the facility and you could personally make sure it’s taken care of.”

It was Keith’s turn to give him a wry smile. Keith chuckled, the sound far more depressing than it had any right to be. He turned back around and placed his palms flat against White’s console. He stared out into space, smile tinged with an emotion Lotor couldn’t even begin to discern. “That’s because clone or not, I can’t hurt Shiro.”

And that was the end to the conversation. Keith had no more to say on the topic and Lotor had no response to give. So they let silence fall between them, each lost to their own thoughts.

Keith flew White through the dense asteroid field, picking his way through the forest of floating minerals and locating Lotor’s ship after several minutes of flying. They docked inside and together made their way to the ship’s bridge to greet his generals.

“Welcome back!” Ezor called with a wave.

“Glad to see you didn’t die.” Zethrid grunted, moving over to sling an arm around Keith’s shoulders and give him a particularly hard noogie. 

He snorted, shrugging off her grip and waving away her hand. “I **did** die.”

“Oh. Well good job springing back.”

Ezor bounced over to Keith, giving him a curious hum and poking at his cheek. “You don’t look dead though.”

“I got better.” Keith rolled his eyes and grabbed her hand, pulling it away from his face. 

“How do you get better from dying?”

“Duh, you become alive!” 

“Ezor, Zethrid.” Acxa said with a reprimanding tone before nodding to Keith in greeting. “I’m glad to see you’re fine. It had been alarming to hear from Lotor that you perished in the fight against Zarkon.”

Ezor gasped, hands flapping excitedly. “Oh yeah! When he came back from talking with Voltron, he was soooo upset about it! I’m surprised he managed to keep his cool when around them after learning about it.” 

“I-I was not that upset.” Lotor huffed, scowling slightly at his giggling general.

However it was then she noticed the markings beneath his eyes. She gasped once more, this time louder and with more exaggeration. “Oh!!! Lotor you’ve got little face markings like Yorak!” 

Now that it was pointed out, both Zethrid and Acxa curiously moved closer to peer at his face. Lotor huffed, proudly standing under their scrutiny. “They are my Altean markings. After journeying to Oriande, they became more distinct because I passed the trials.”

“Oh how cuteee!”

Acxa frowned, “But sir, won’t you need to cover them up? Would it not seem strange that your Altean marks have become more visible all of a sudden?”

Something brushed against Keith’s senses. It was odd enough to catch his attention and pull him from the conversation. His eyes moved away from Zethrid and Ezor discussing how to hide Lotor’s markings and fell on the quietest member of the group, Narti. Wrapped around her shoulders was Kova, the alien cat watching the group with a lazy interest.

Keith frowned, brows furrowing as he reached out his senses curiously. He’d felt that unusual flare from this direction. However only Narti and Kova were here? So why…?

The moment Keith’s quintessence brushed against Narti’s, he found his eyes widening and a chill shooting down his spine. Keith shot forward, startling everyone from his abrupt movements. Narti was caught off-guard and was unable to dodge as Keith crowded into her space and slapped a hand over her face, hand gripping her head and a pulse of white quintessence washing over her in a burst. Narti let out a soft, strangled sound before her body went rigid and she was collapsing in a heap.

Keith caught her, Kova hissing and scrambling onto his shoulder to avoid slipping to the ground. Slowly he lowered the both of them to the floor, hand glowing as he hovered it over Narti’s forehead and ran it down her face. He ignored his slowly mounting headache and focused on the task before him.

“What the Hell?!” Zethrid yelled, jumping into action the moment Narti fell. 

“Yorak! What--?!”

“She was being possessed by Haggar.” Keith’s chilled tone froze everyone, even their breathing stopping from shock. “I sensed her quintessence latching onto Narti. I expelled it just now, but…” He looked up to Lotor with dread.

All four half-Galran’s paled, Acxa being the one to whisper what Keith hadn’t said. “We don’t know how long she’s been spying on us…”

Lotor looked rightfully horrified, “We’ve been compromised.”

Zethrid grimaced, one hand on her hip as she looked to Lotor. “Hold on. If she saw us talking to Yorak, then doesn’t that mean she knows we’re working with Voltron?”

“This isn’t good.” Keith reached into his pocket, retrieving his communicator and activating it. There was only a few beeps before the call connected, a confused team of Voltron looking at him from the little screen. 

“ _Keith? What’s up?_ ” Shiro asked, standing up from his seat.

“Guys, we’ve got a problem. A big one.”

During his explanation of what just happened, Keith continued running his quintessence through both Narti and Kova to make sure Haggar’s was completely flushed from their system. 

Allura, stricken, covered her mouth with a hand. “ _Then that means Lotor and his generals are in danger if they decide to return to the Empire._ ”

“ _It doesn’t matter if they return or not,_ ” Coran said from his station, “ _They now have a target on their backs just like Voltron. They’ll be hunted down and treated like enemies. Drawn without quarter!_ ”

“Well what are we going to do?” Ezor asked with a frown, “We can guess that Lotor’s a wanted criminal now. But can Haggar really strip him of his status as Emperor Pro Tem?”

“She can if she paints it as Zarkon’s declaration. And since my father is currently indisposed, none of us will be able to refute her claims. Not to mention her word is more trusted than mine. As it stands, we must assume that from this moment on, we will be considered enemies to the Galra Empire.”

Keith felt a wave of dizziness wash over him, making him sway. Thankfully before he collapsed, Zethrid got to him and caught him with one hand. “Woah there, old timer.” 

“ _Keith!_ ”

“Yorak!”

Keith grunted, raising the communicator with a shaking hand. “I’m fine… Just pushed myself to hard. I’m still… Recovering. Shiro, contact Kolivan. Tell him what’s going on. I want him up to date on everything. Tell him I’ll call soon.”

“ _I will. Do you need us to open a wormhole and come get you?_ ”

The Altean waved dismissively, “It’s fine. I’ll make my way back when I have the energy.”

Allura frowned at the screen, “ _Are you sure? I don’t want you straining yourself, Yorak._ ”

Lotor crouched down beside Keith so he could be seen on the screen. He offered a reassuring smile, “Not to worry, Princess. I will make sure Yorak gets the proper rest. You have my word.”

Though his team were reluctant to part with Keith so soon after getting him back, they could tell from the stubborn set of his brow that he wasn’t interested in being coddled. Keith soon ended the call after bidding a quick farewell to his team. With a sigh he leaned into Zethrid’s hold, head lolling to the side. He tiredly gestured to Narti who was still laying on the floor. “She’ll have a killer headache when she wakes… Make sure she drinks some water.”

“We will. Zethrid, would you please take Yorak to one of the spare rooms so he can sleep?” Lotor asked as he bent down and picked up Narti. Kova leapt onto the Prince’s shoulder, purring as he nudged Lotor’s cheek with his head.

Zethrid used one hand to yank Keith up and not so delicately sling him over her shoulder. He grunted from the manhandling but didn’t complain. Keith didn’t expect anything different from a Galra like Zethrid.

“Come on, old timer. We’ll put you down for your nap.” She said with a cheeky grin.

Keith scowled from behind her back, “Oh ha ha, aren’t you so clever with that nickname.”

//

Shiro honestly knew he shouldn’t expect Keith to be there in the lounge. He was on Lotor’s ship recovering. There was no possible way for him to be on the castle without the team knowing. So why was Shiro here? Why did he make his way to the lounge when the lights went out and the castle grew quiet? There was nothing for him here.

As Shiro sat there staring out into the dancing lights of space, he found himself nearly consumed with the urge to call Keith. To reassure himself that the other really was alive and ok. But right now Keith was probably sleeping. It would be selfish of him to interrupt Keith’s recuperating by demanding assurances.

Yet despite the thousands of lightyears between them, Keith somehow knew when Shiro needed him. His pocket beeping startled Shiro from his revere. Pulling it out, he answered the call without thinking. Keith’s tired face appeared on the screen and the Black Paladin felt an impossibly soft smile tug at the corner of his mouth.

Keith looked like he’d just woken up from a very deep nap. His hair was mused and a drying line of drool was still visible thanks to the low light of the room he was in. 

Sniffing, the Altean pushed his bangs back from his face and yawned, “ _Hey_.”

Shiro chuckled and settled back against the couch. “Hey. Sleep well?”

“ _As well as can be. I’m still feeling exhausted though_.”

“Makes sense. But I’m sure you’ll be back to full strength in no time.” Shiro said encouragingly.

Keith grunted, rolling onto his side and pressing his cheek into a purple pillow. It was then that Shiro realized Keith had called him from his bed. The reason why he looked like he just woke up was **because** he had just woken up. Shiro felt a burning flood of endearment squeeze his heart and make his cheeks warm in a light blush. 

“Did you call Kolivan and Antok?” Shiro asked as a way to distract himself from his silly thoughts.

This caused the Altean to let out another groan. He closed his eyes and sighed, “ _Yeah, I did. Right before I fell asleep. Spent a good hour talking to them and reassuring them that I was fine and that next chance I get, I would be stopping by to see them. Which I think I’ll be doing tomorrow? Or some other time depending on how well Narti is feeling_.”

Humming softly, Shiro tilted his head at the screen. “So you’ll be staying with Lotor for the time being?”

“ _Yeah. I want to keep an eye on Narti, see if there’s any lingering effects. Plus… I’m worried about Lotor. Brat likes to pretend he’s this aloof, untouchable Prince. But when it comes to Zarkon he’s still that scared kid I remember raising_.” Keith sighed, purple eyes growing sad. “ _He’s afraid Haggar will find him and drag him back to face Zarkon. He can act like he isn’t. That the idea of being wanted by the entire Empire is just the way things are, but I can tell_.”

“You really care for him.” 

Keith let his gaze drift to the side, mumbling softly, “ _Someone has to_ …”

Thankfully after that, conversation drifted to safer topics. Keith didn’t mention his time after disappearing and Shiro was loath to bring it up. So they kept to light conversation, musing about things they missed from Earth and other mundane topics. 

Despite the conversation not really having anything of substance, Shiro wouldn’t trade this moment for anything. Listening to Keith’s soothing drawl as he described Tex’s process of cooking cactus for snacks shouldn’t have been as relaxing as it was. Yet before long, Shiro found his eyelids drooping along with his head. He tried to stay awake, jolting every time his eyes closed for a second too long. Eventually Keith paused mid-sentence, his words broken up by a fond chuckle. “ _You should go to sleep, Shiro._ ”

“Hmmm?” Shiro hummed, “No, I’m fine… Just resting my eyes.”

“ _Yeah, that’s called sleeping._ ”

“No, sleeping is just a free-trial on death. Resting my eyes is meditating.”

“ _Shiro._ ”

The Black Paladin sighed before flashing a sleepy grin. “Fine, fine. I’ll go to bed. Promise you’ll call tomorrow?”

Keith quirked a brow and smirked, “ _Well the night cycles on both ships might be a little different, but yeah. I’ll call you in about 8 or so hours_.”

“I look forward to it, then. Goodnight Keith, see you in ‘ _8 or so hours_ ’.”

“ _Night, Shiro_.”


	7. The Family of Green: Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Road trip between a space cowboy, a gremlin, and a fancy cat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hello! Hope you are all staying safe in these stressful times. For this chapter it's something "lighter". A fun bonding chapter :> I've mentioned before but that's what a lot of these chapters are going to be about. Bonding! Why? Because I need it for plot points :D So hopefully no one is complaining. Though if you're bored by the lack of action then no worries! I promise that in due time there will be plenty of fighting. Till then I thank you for reading and for your comments. I'm grateful for every single one of them! Also something I want to mention beforehand: In multi-chapter fics, I'm the type to put more focus on plot rather than ships. In my previous fics it was the very same way. So that's kind of why I put the slowburn tag because 1, drag out that sweet build up. And 2, the ships won't get every chapter dedicated to them if the narrative doesn't dictate it. So yeah... Just warning in case you get fed up with the lag of Sheith heavy content. Sorry :'>

It has been a total of three months since Keith returned to the team. In that time, the Altean had been flying between Lotor’s ship and Voltron. Though about a month ago, Lotor’s ship had gone silent while the crew handled some sort of affairs. Keith assured the team they would be fine on their own and would contact them if they needed help.

In the meantime Keith had the team bring the comet to Oriande since none of them knew what to do with it just yet. Keith locked it in the bowels of the temple for protection for the time being. And so there it lay, confined behind walls only Keith’s quintessence or the Guardian’s could activate.

Then about three days ago Lotor had contacted Keith and he was quick to rush off to the young Prince’s location. During the month without contact from Lotor, Voltron was running around liberating planets and playing nice for the crowd. One such situation was where they currently found themselves in. Voltron was to be the head of a parade, or as Coran called it: A Show of Arms. At first Shiro had been reluctant to flash Voltron off like a fancy show car, but Coran had insisted that good PR and spreading the name of Voltron was an absolute must.

As the Paladins sat in their Lions waiting for Coran to give them the signal to start, Hunk drummed his fingers along his chair. “ _You think Keith made it in time for the show?_ ”

“ _Who knows? That guy’s been of playing space dad to Lotor and his crew for days now._ ” Lance grumbled from his end. 

“ _Shiro, has Yorak contacted you on if he’d be here or not?_ ”

“ _No, sorry Princess. Last I talked to Keith was two days ago. He said he might be able to show up, but that was about it. I haven’t heard anything from him since._ ”

“ _Well no matter. I’m sure Yorak is fine wherever he is. We’ll just have to hope Coran is recording this show so that we may be able to send it to him when we are done._ ”

“ _Oh yeah! Show him what he’s missing out on!_ ”

Shiro chuckled, “ _Alright guys, enough chatter. Coran’s nearing the signal. Everyone get ready_.”

The show went off without a hitch. After Coran’s verbal signal, the five Lions emerged from where they had hidden, streaks of colourful smoke trailing after them and painting the sky. They twisted and turned, diving around each other in a twirling dance they’d spent weeks choreographing. 

Then at the end the five Lions converged, a flash of light illuminating the stadium before Voltron appeared and drew its blade. The crowds cheers were near deafening as Voltron raised its sword to the sky, Lance grinning as he twisted the Red bayard.

“ _Shiro! Let’s give this a little flare_!”

With a snort Shiro produced his own bayard, slamming it into its port and twisting. Suddenly the wings on Voltron’s back flared and elongated just as the sword glowed hot and erupted into flames. On the ground Coran jumped at the improvised move before quickly adding more to his speech to amplify the effect.

“A-and with Voltron’s wings of justice and sword of fire, we’ll cut through the tyranny from the Galra regime! We will fly forward into an era of peace with Voltron acting as our wings of freedom!!” A new wave of cheers arose from the crowd, some eagerly waving their signs with drawings of the Paladin’s faces. They called out their love and support for the Lions and their pilots, crying for attention from the galaxy’s saviors. 

Unbeknownst to Voltron, sitting on top of one of the stadium pillars and watching the whole event unfold were a familiar group of people. Keith, Lotor, and his generals were crowding around the top of the platform watching the show in blatant amusement. 

Keith had his legs dangling over the side and was sharing a bag of buttery chips with Acxa. Zethrid stood behind the Altean and had her own tub of food that she was wolfing down while Ezor was sitting on Keith’s other side and slurping loudly on a drink. Lotor and Narti were sitting beside Acxa and eating from a pack of dried meat, Narti ripping off pieces and giving them to Kova. 

After Keith released Haggar’s hold on Narti, she’d woken up with an excruciating headache but was thankful for Keith’s interference. With some questioning Keith had learned that while under Haggar’s control, Narti had been unaware when she would become a spy. She’d shown discomfort at learning Haggar had possessed her, the few jerky hand signs she made expressing her inner turmoil. It took some heavy reassurance from Keith that she was clean of possession before the half-Galra grew less agitated.

“What’s the point of this fancy show?” Zethrid asked around her mouthful of food. “It’s stupid. Doing tricks does nothing to show how strong you are as a fighter.”

“It’s to make them more approachable,” Keith gestured towards where the crowd was getting their posters signed or getting photos with Voltron. “Instead of seeing Voltron as a faceless defender, this gets the crown more familiar with them. They’re more likely to empathize with people they know rather than ones they don’t. If Voltron interacts with the people they liberate, then they’re more likely to get people joining and supporting their cause.”

“Well I still think it’s stupid.”

Ezor paused in her loud slurping just to gasp for air, leaning forward to look at Lotor beside Acxa. “So are we not going down there to say hi? I thought that was the whole reason why we came in the first place.”

“We came to provide moral support for Voltron,” Lotor said, ripping off a strip of meat and chewing it thoughtfully. “And even if we did go down there to say hi, what would the crowd think if they see Voltron interacting with Zarkon’s son?”

“But to the Empire we’re wanted criminals. Won’t the crowds be sympathetic?” 

“There’s no guarantee they even know we’re wanted,” Acxa said with a frown, “For all we know, the information hasn’t reached this planet yet. It would be safer to remain in the shadows. We can go and seek permission after they are no longer occupied.”

And so they hunkered down and finished off their treats, waiting for Voltron to pile into their individual Lions and fly back to the castle ship. It took a good hour of waiting around before Voltron finally bid farewell and departed the planet. Using the cover of night, Keith ushered the group of half-Galra’s into White and booked it after the massive ship. 

The moment they drew close enough, the castle ship picked up their signal and flashed their zoomed in image on the central screen. “It’s Yorak!” Coran exclaimed with a grin, hailing a line. 

The image changed to the smiling face of Yorak, Lotor and his generals crowding around his chair and offering their own forms of greeting. Keith gave a two-fingered salute, “ _Hey. You guys did great out there. Really stylish at the end with the sword and the wings_.”

“Thanks! It was **my** idea!” Lance said with his chest puffed out proudly.

“ _Aaaah. Makes sense why it was so flashy then._ ”

Everyone snickered in amusement at Lance’s expense, Allura clearing her throat before speaking. “While I am happy to see you, Yorak, I must ask: What brings you here? I was under the impression that you were helping Lotor take care of something?”

“ _Ah, yeah he finished that a while back. I was just helping with cleanup. Though we didn’t actually came to just watch the show. We wanna ask something._ ” Now that got everyone’s attention. Keith grinned, eyes sliding over to the Green Paladin. “ _If you guys aren’t too busy, mind if we borrow Pidge?_ ”

“Wh- Me? Why?” Pidge frowned in confusion. 

“ _Because. I came to cash in on a promise I made._ ” Keith jabbed a thumb over his shoulder at Lotor, “ _I found our lead._ ”

Pidge sucked in a quick breath, her hands clenching tight. It didn’t take long for her to understand what Keith was saying. She knew almost instantly what he meant. 

“I’m going.” Pidge jumped from her seat, heading to the Green Lion’s chute. 

“Hold on a second, Pidge.” Shiro called from where he stood with his arms crossed over his chest. “What does Keith mean by Lotor being a lead?”

“ _It’s only a recent recollection, but Yorak mentioned to me that you were not the only human taken by the Galra. While I was banished at the time and have no knowledge where the others were sent, that doesn’t mean I am completely unaware on where we can search. I know of several Galra ships we can pilfer the databases for in order to track down Pidge’s missing family members. Yorak felt it would be wise to try and find them now since I no longer have to pretend I am not affiliated with Voltron._ ” Lotor explained with a small quirk of his lips.

“But if Pidge goes now, we’ll be down a Lion.” 

“Shiro,” Pidge turned wide, pleading eyes on their Black Paladin. The wounded puppy look went straight to his heart and made his resolve falter even before Pidge started pleading. “Please. This is the perfect chance I have to find Matt and dad. I need to do this.”

Lotor cleared his throat, drawing eyes back towards him. “ _While I know it won’t amount to an entire Lion of Voltron, I am more than willing to offer up my generals to aid you in anything you should need._ ”

Allura crossed her arms over her chest and mulled over Lotor’s offer with a furrow in her brow. “Well… We were going to be heading back to the Olkarion to handle some affairs. We could always use an extra pair of hands.”

“Plus it’d help ease people into the idea that Lotor and his generals can be trusted!” Hunk pipped in with a smile.

“It would be a good idea.” Shiro turned his eyes to Allura and inclined his head, “Princess? What do you think?”

Allura nodded her head and smiled, “I believe it would be a good start. Especially since the Olkari trust our judgement immensely. If we want the universe to believe that you all can be trusted, this would be a good chance for it.”

“ _Understood. My generals will be on their best behavior._ ”

Keith hummed, tapping a finger against his console. “ _I’ll drop them off and swap them out with Pidge. Get your butt to the hangar, gremlin._ ” Pidge stuck her tongue out at Keith before turning around and rushing out of the room. Keith chuckled, warm eyes sliding from her to Shiro. He offered an even softer smile, inclining his head to the other. “ _I’ll bring her back safe and sound, don’t worry_.”

“I don’t doubt that you would. You keep safe as well.” 

“ _I’ll try._ ”

Though it wasn’t a goodbye, it was enough for Keith. He disconnected from the line a moment later and his face disappeared. Shiro pointedly ignored the obnoxious grin and eyebrow wagging Lance was flashing him. There was nothing special about their words. It was just Shiro worrying for a close friend. A friend he’s lost before and is loath to lose again. That’s all it is.

///

“So where are we going first? A secret base? A Galran battle ship?” Pidge asked the moment she entered White’s cockpit.

“First off,” Keith said, looking over his shoulder at her. “You’re going to open this.” 

Pidge quirked a brow when Keith handed her a rectangular box wrapped in thick twine. As she slowly unwound the string keeping it closed, it didn’t go unnoticed how Keith and Lotor seemed to lean towards her in interest. They eagerly awaited for her to open the box, Keith with a small grin and Lotor with a look of apprehension.

The moment Pidge removed the lid she felt herself gasping. Nestled inside on a soft cushion was a short dagger. The handle was a pearly white with green lines etched into it, very reminiscent to the Altean style of weapons. The sheath itself was made from a similar material, an image of a Lion’s side profile mid-roar was branded into the center of the sheath in the same glowing green colour as the handle’s markings.

Pidge reverently took the blade from its box and let the empty container drop to the ground carelessly. She cradled the dagger and gripped the handle with one hand, the sheath with the other. It made a crisp sound as she pulled it from its holding, the blade itself glinting a faint blue. Pidge sucked in a quick breath, turning the crystal dagger from side to side in awe.

“It’s beautiful.”

“I’m glad you like it,” Keith’s grin widened, “It’s a scaultrite dagger. I’m not the best when it comes to crafting weapons so Lotor helped me with it. I made the design while he did most of the technical work. You should be able to connect it to your Paladin armor so the sheath can stick to your belt and not get dislodged unless you manually enter the command for it to detach.”

“Such is the power of Altean ingenuity. I’m glad my teachings from Oriande have been put to good use.” Lotor said with a small smile, “It was a little difficult to get right at first, so apologies if there are still some flaws in the design. We can always give you a better one in the future should you so desi-“

Pidge interrupted Lotor mid-sentence by rushing forward and colliding with his side. She gave him a quick squeeze, leaving Lotor stunned as she scurried around to hug Keith as well. “It’s perfect! Thank you both!”

Keith accepted the hug with one of his own and smirked at Lotor over her shoulder. “Told you she’d like it. You were worrying for nothing.”

The Galran Prince coughed into his fist and pointedly looked away. “Yes well I like the gifts I give to be absolutely perfect. Flaws are undesirable when it comes to the usefulness of an item.”

“It’s Altean engineering, it’s practically flawless.” Pidge said as she pulled away, arm raised and data-screen appearing from her gauntlet. She began to quickly type away at the screen, eyes widening in awe when the green parts of the blade flashed and hummed. “Wow! It synchs up so quickly!”

While Pidge fiddled with the blade’s technology and attaching it to her belt, Keith placed his hands to White’s console and began feeding his quintessence into it. “Alright. With that out of the way, let’s go!”

///

The first stop on their journey was indeed a Galra battle cruiser. Lotor said that this was one of the ships that kept records on prisoners. Because Pidge already had information on where Matt might be, they decided to use this ship to see if there was any information on Sam’s location.

They waited for the ship to dock at a supply station before Keith parked White a good distance away. Then the three of them boosted their way towards the secret base. Keith’s Altean clothes had been traded out for a Blade of Marmora uniform. Apparently he’d visited Kolivan during one of the times he was away from the team.

Keith no longer had the Red bayard, however this didn’t leave him down a weapon. He still had his mother’s blade and also a sword Lotor had gifted him, the first thing he made with his newfound knowledge on Altean alchemy. Even now he still struggled to come to terms with the fact he could use Altean magic. But thankfully Keith was there to teach him like he had when Lotor was still a small kit.

Pidge used her bayard to cut a hole into the roof of the ship. Keith was the first to slip through, then Pidge, followed by Lotor. With Lotor in the lead, he guided them through the bowels of the ship and past sections locked behind scanners. With his help they managed to sneak into the records room, Keith taking up guard in front of the door while the two others rushed to the large computers.

“I will narrow the data down from the time your father and brother disappeared up till now. From there we can analyze any oddity that catches our eye.” Lotor said as his fingers flew across the keyboard.

From where she stood, Pidge’s fingers worked just as fast. “What if we cross-reference photos? Or species name?”

“A photo might work, I’m not too sure on the species. Because humans have been considered insignificant in the eyes of the Galra with their primitive technological advancements, they aren’t deemed important enough to be labeled in most databases. It’s a frequent thing that happens with more… Simple species. At least simple by Galra standards.”

Pidge grimaced, “I would be offended, but comparing Galra tech to Earth tech? Yeah, we’re basically newborns.” 

The Galran Prince chuckled lightly, “I wouldn’t say that. You have managed to reach the end of your solar system, after all. There are many species who haven’t even gone off planet yet. So considering the circumstances, you are doing quite well.”

“Baby steps,” Keith encouraged with a thumbs up.

Now Pidge was really rolling her eyes at the two of them. “The council thanks you for your encouraging words.”

Lotor and Keith both snorted, the latter tilted his head towards the door and humming softly. “Better wrap it up fast, you two. We’re about to have company.”

“We’ll probably have to download the files we haven’t sorted yet. We can work through them while we follow up on Pidge’s lead.” Lotor said as he produced a purple flash drive from who knows where. 

“Got it. Keith, mind taking care of the company?”

With a roll of his eyes Keith sighed and turned around, “Might as well since I’m not doing anything. I’ll handle our unwanted guests.” 

He cracked his knuckles before standing in front of the door. In the next moment it slid open, a Galra sentry on the other side. It visibly startled, mechanical body jerking just as Keith grinned and said a casual “Hey”. The next moment it was punched straight into the adjacent wall, face caved in from the force of Keith’s hit.

“You know I don’t even have a shield.”

“Then try not to get hit.”

Keith laughed, stepping out into the hall and letting the door slide close. He drew his sword in one hand and wielded Krolia’s blade with the other. Flexing his grip along the handles, Keith listened for the rushing footsteps as the alarm overhead went off. In the next moment a group of sentries were rounding the corner and Keith was charging. 

///

The three of them wore hooded cloaks, obscuring most of their bodies from sight as they made their way through the underbelly of the city. It hadn’t been long since they left the bright, glittering lights and entered the dingy and damp streets that were barely illuminated. They discreetly slid past the Galran security drones, trying not to draw attention to themselves.

Their little group passed by alleyways where hooded aliens also lingered. They spared the three some glances and nothing more. With Pidge in the lead, Lotor and Keith flanked her on either side. Each kept an eye and ear out for their surroundings while Pidge had her nose buried in her screen.

“It’s this way.” She whispered before deactivating the holo-pad. 

She stopped them in front of a building that looked like it was made to be one massive shipping crate. It was dingy and beat up, clearly seeing better years. Lotor tried not to grimace, his nose wrinkling slightly at the pungent odor wafting from the surrounding area. It was in times like these he cursed his Galra genes for being so strong. 

He bit back the complaint on the smell and instead pushed the door open for his two companions. It creaked ominously and the wave of warmed air that hit his face made Lotor blanch visibly. The stench was even more repugnant inside. Did something die?? Why was it so rancid?

“You look like you swallowed a lemon.” Pidge commented as she walked past.

Though he had no clue what a lemon was, Lotor assumed it wasn’t pleasant to the taste if it made one’s expression twist like his. “Be thankful you not have the senses of a Galra.”

“I’ll take your word for it.”

Inside the shop was barely lit and there were shelves upon shelves of unnamed goods. Pidge once again took the front with Keith at her heels, Lotor lingering back a moment in order to pull up the cowl he wore beneath the cloak. With it now obscuring the bottom half of his face, he felt like he could breathe somewhat easier.

At the very end of the shop lounged a sparsely dressed Unilu, the uncaring air about him only emphasized by his casual way of sitting. “Shop’s closed.”

Pidge glanced over her shoulder at Keith, the Altean giving her a subtle nod. She turned back to the Unilu and let an easy smile slip on her face, inching forward. “We’re just looking for directions to a show. We heard it’s _explosive_.”

The Unilu quirked a brow and smirked, “So you’re the one looking for the nano-thermite titanium-boron?” He spread out two of his arms in a shrug, “Very expensive. Difficult to procure, I assure you.”

“Not as difficult as you’d have us believe.” Keith said with a snort, arms crossed over his chest. 

A defensive look flashed across the Unilu’s face and he sat up straighter in his seat. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means we aren’t interested anymore, though we still want to do the exchange. We’re only interested in something… Different.” 

Now they had his interest. The Unilu hummed, “Oh? And what would that be.”

Pidge stepped forward, arm raised as she played the video of Matt being broken out of the prisons. She paused it on his face, holding it up to the Unilu. “You’ll get your money if you tell us who is in the video and where we could find them.”

Snorting, the Unilu leaned back in his chair. “And what makes you think I would know them?”

“Because,” Lotor said, stepping forward to stand beside Pidge in support. “They used nano-thermite titanium-boron.”

“And you’re the only one in this section of the galaxy that sells it.” Pidge added with a pointed glare.

“I’ve had some good luck selling things of value. And I think the Galra would pay a lot to know how you got your hands on that security footage!” He exclaimed just as he stood and pulled out two swords.

The three blinked, sharing a look between each other. Did he really think he could take on all three of them? More arms didn’t mean shit when it came to skill. Both Lotor and Keith hummed, the former Red Paladin patting the little human on the back.

“He’s all yours.”

“ _Are you really using this as a moment of training?_ ” Lotor asked as he and Keith moved to lean against the wall, watching Pidge kick the desk and knock the Unilu off-balance.

“ _Of course. I’ll take an opportunity when I see one._ ”

Neither Keith nor Lotor were worried about Pidge being unable to handle one enemy. Lotor had faith in the skills she learned under Keith’s tutelage, while Keith knew Pidge’s limits. So it came as no surprise how quickly the battle ended.

The moment the Unilu was on the ground unconscious, both Keith and Lotor gave small, quick claps.

“Nice form.”

“Truly a good show of strength.”

“I really like what you did with the whip.”

“Wonderful ingenuity.” 

Pidge gave a mock scowl at the two of them to try and cover up her growing amusement. “A round of thanks for the peanut gallery. You gonna help me sift through this guy’s data or what?”

“And steal your thunder? I wouldn’t dream of it.”

“It’d be terribly rude of us to do so.”

Rolling her eyes and sighing, she gestured to the groaning Unilu before going over to his desk and pulling up a screen. Both Lotor and Keith shared amused chuckles, Keith patting Pidge’s head before picking up the Unilu with one hand and dumping him on his desk. Lotor worked quickly and efficiently to tie up all four of his hands. 

Soon the three of them were leaving the shop and making their way back to the upper parts of the city and off the planet. They were headed to Te-Osh’s last known location, that being Kraydah’s moon. 

As they drew closer to the planet, Keith enhanced a vision on the screen and saw that the base on the moon was currently under attack by the Galra.

“Shit!” Pidge cursed, “Keith we have to do something!”

“But what about the White Lion? We can’t let word about its existence get out!”

Keith grit his teeth and suddenly the Lion was picking up speed. “We’ll deal with whatever happens afterwards. I’m not going to stand by and watch them be attacked.”

Unlike the Lions of Voltron, White was not equipped for battle. However that did not mean it was defenseless. White shot down like a bullet, jaws clamping on the wing of the plane and dragged it down. He flung it into the other Galra fighter and exploded the two of them.

Keith’s screen beeped when the smoke cleared, someone rushing towards the ship. Keith landed and grimaced, glancing to Pidge and making a shooing gesture to her. “You go down there and do the talking. I’m technically not a Voltron Paladin anymore and Lotor’s face won’t win us any brownie points.”

“Gee, how kind of you.”

Pidge snorted and patting the Prince’s arm sympathetically before rushing her way out of the White Lion and onto the crater-filled runway. 

The freedom fighter was standing just outside, speaking once he caught sight of Pidge. “Greetings. I am Lieutenant Ozar. You must be one of the Paladins.” He paused, eyes glancing towards the Lion before him and its white plating. “Though I don’t think I’ve ever heard of one of the Voltron Lions being white…”

“It’s… A closely kept secret.” Pidge said quickly, grinning beneath her helmet. “We don’t want word getting out about it.”

“Ah! A secret weapon! I understand.” Ozar said with a sagely nod.

“Right… I’m Pidge. What’s going on?” She quickly changed the subject. Hopefully Ozar wouldn’t ask any more questions about White. After a quick discussion, Ozar pointed Pidge in the direction Te-Osh was. However it was then that a wave of bullet fire rained down from the clouds, Galra fighters rushing in. White reared to life almost instantly and launched into the air without a moment’s hesitation.

Claws ripped apart metal and jaws bit clean-through some ships. From Keith’s quick actions, two ships exploded in a mass of fire and shrapnel. That left just one ship chasing after Te-Osh, however they were moving quickly and soon were leaving the atmosphere altogether.

“I have to go! Will you be ok?” Pidge cast a concerned look towards Ozar.

He nodded, smiling crookedly, “We will be fine. Thanks to your Lion’s quick work, not much damage was done. You, quickly go and help Te-Osh. We’ll catch up when we can.”

Pidge nodded, sparing one last glance at Ozar before running down the broken path. She leapt up, activating her jetpack and boosting high into the air. Sweeping jaws scooped her up and she tumbled into the Lion, landing in a pair of arms that saved her from slamming into the wall.

“I got her!” Lotor yelled, gripping to a handle located just inside White’s jaws.

“Everyone hold on!!”

And with that White was shooting forward. There was a humming sound coming from the Lion and lights Pidge didn’t even knew existed lit up along the roof of its mouth. Lotor instantly felt the charge of quintessence in the air and tightened his grip on Pidge, pulling them both close to the wall just as the Lion’s jaws parted and the light inside flashed. There was a deafening booming roar that rattled their heads and left their ears ringing. Despite being thrown off-kilter, they somehow managed to stumble their way back into White’s cockpit.

White shot through the wormhole that appeared and was spat out not a moment after. They ended up directly beside Te-Osh’s ship and White wasted no time snatching the stray Galra fighter and shredding into it with claws and teeth. Only with it destroyed did Keith contact Te-Osh’s fleeing ship. 

“Te-Osh, we’re members of Voltron, we’re here to help.”

Her voice crackled over the com, strained from pain. “ _Please. Nnn… I’ve been hit._ ”

Keith cursed, bringing White close to the ship as it slowed down. He leapt from his seat with Pidge, activating his helmet and nodding to Lotor. “ _Watch the scanners. If we get attacked then control White and fight them off._ ” He said, voice coming out roboticly thanks to his mask.

Lotor sputtered, “’Control White’? How??”

“ _You’ll figure it out!_ ”

And together he and Pidge left White and jetted over to Te-Osh’s ship. Inside they found Te-Osh slumped in her chair and coughing in pain. Keith picked her up and gently set her against the side of the ship, Pidge’s screen doing a quick X-ray and locating a few broken ribs.

“That’s not good.”

“ _I’ve got this. Pidge, keep talking to her while I work._ ” Keith said, hands raised to hover over her injured body. 

Pidge watched for a moment as Keith’s hands began to glow, the warmth of the energy felt even through her own armor. She blinked, ignoring what Keith was doing and instead taking Te-Osh’s mask from her face so she could breathe better.

“Hey, it’s going to be ok. Keith is going to take good care of you. The others are going to come get you and together you can deposit these supplies.”

Te-Osh coughed, vision wavering slightly. She blinked, face scrunching up in confused delirium. “Matt?”

Pidge sucked in a sharp breath, “He’s my brother. I’m trying to find him.”

The alien woman smiled gently, “You look so much like him. It’s the eyes…” She looked down, hand reaching into her pocket and pulling out a rectangular device. The movement had her grunting, wincing at the pain shooting through her sides.

“ _Don’t shift around too much, I’m almost done._ ”

Te-Osh merely hummed, blinking slowly at Keith before handing Pidge the item. “Here. Every rebel officer has one of these transponders. It’s how we find each other in the field. Matt… He may not have his anymore. But this is his code.” The soft smile on her face turned strained, her voice growing weak. “You can… Return it to me the next I see you…”

She then slumped, eyes closing and breath evening out. Pidge gasped, body stiffening in shock. The glow faded from Keith and he sighed, placing a hand to Pidge’s shoulder. “ _She’ll be fine. We got to her in time. I managed to stop the internal bleeding and fix a few of her ribs, though not all of them. And even the ones I did mend aren’t exactly ‘fixed’. More like fractured, but I guess that’s better than broken._ ” Keith huffed, slumping slightly and shaking his head. “ _I wish I could do more but healing isn’t my strong suit._ ”

“You did more than enough. You’ve given her a chance.”

There was a beep on the ship’s console just as Lotor’s voice clicked on their coms. “ _The other rebel ship has arrived unharmed._ ” Lotor informed, Pidge rushing to the console and pressing a button. 

Ozar began speaking the moment the call was answered, his voice tinged slightly in worry. “ _Te-Osh? Are you alright?_ ”

“Ozar, this is Pidge. Te-Osh was injured but we managed to get to her in time. She needs immediate medical aid though.”

“ _Understood. Thank you, Pidge. We’ll send a few men to check her over. Is the ship still able to fly?_ ”

Pidge frowned, running the ships scans and reading over the report. “Just barely. It was hit pretty badly and one of the energy turbines are damaged.”

Keith stood from his squat, hands on his hips. “ _White will help push it along._ ”

After relaying that to Ozar, Pidge and Keith waited for the few rebels to get on the ship and make their way to the bridge. The entire time Keith and Pidge kept an eye on Te-Osh’s condition, making sure she remained stable long enough for the rebels to come and tend to her themselves. Then Keith was leaning against the wall, remaining silent and stationary. While it looked like he was just being as unapproachable as his uncles, the truth was that Keith was manually piloting White from where he stood so he needed to concentrate.

It wasn’t long before they were leaving the rebel ships with the promise to stay in contact thanks to Ozar’s transponder code. Then they were making their way back into White and Keith was logging the location of Matt’s transponder into his Lion. 

He leaned back in his chair and sighed heavily. “Well here we go.”

“Do you think this’ll be it?” Pidge asked softly, looking down at the transponder. “That we’ll finally find Matt?”

“I’d like to believe. And if not then we’ll just have to keep looking.” Keith paused, humming with pursed lips. “Thooooough I don’t know if I’ll be able to fly us there.”

“What?” Both Lotor and Pidge looked at Keith in concern.

“Yorak, are you alright? What’s wrong?”

Keith grinned at their worried expressions and gave a dramatic sigh. “Healing Te-Osh really took it out of me. I don’t think I have the necessary quintessence to Pilot White.” His smile turned into a feral smirk as he popped up from his chair and manually grabbed Lotor, shoving him into the pilot’s seat. “So looks like you’ll have to fly us there.”

Lotor blinked, stunned for a moment before he chuckled dryly. “Taking dramatics from Lance’s book, are you?”

“Ugh, don’t tell him or I’ll never hear the end of it.”

From where she stood, Pidge let out a petulant whine. “How come Lotor gets to pilot? Maybe I want to try flying White.”

“You already have your own Lion. Don’t be selfish.”

“It’s not like I **want** to keep White! I just want to see how different they fly from Green!”

Keith crossed his arms over his chest and hummed in thought, “Maybe. We’ll see how well Lotor does first, then you can switch off.”

The Galran Prince huffed a small sigh, “If I may ask, why are you making us learn how to fly your Lion? Surely you aren’t preparing for another “ _disappearing_ ” act?”

Pidge’s head snapped to look at Keith and her eyes narrowed. With a pointed glare she hovered a hand over her belt pocket, “You’d better not. I’ll call Coran and he’ll deck you again.”

“Oh please. You really think Allura will let Coran fly the castle ship just to kick my ass?”

He had a point, but Pidge still had a trump card. “I’ll call Shiro. See how well you can dodge that.”

Now Keith was the one looking stricken, “You wouldn’t dare.”

“Try me, space cowboy.”

The two settled into a staring match, Pidge’s hand still poised to snatch her communicator and call up their Black Paladin at a moment’s notice. Eventually Keith did sigh in defeat, scratching his head. “Ok, calm down. I’m not doing this because I plan on dying anytime soon. It’s just in case I’m indisposed and can’t control White. You guys can’t pilot it from the outside like I can, but just in case you’re in here and **need** to pilot, I want you to be able to know how.”

Both Pidge and Lotor visibly relaxed at that. The Green Paladin removed her hand from her side, slumping into her previously casual stance. “Geez. Maybe just say that from the beginning instead of worrying us like that?”

“I agree. Pardon us for being weary but you have died one-too-many times for us to be fully comfortable with.” Lotor said with a smile.

Keith grunted, leaning against White’s side. “I get it, sorry. I’ll try not to be so vague next time.”

“That’s all we ask.”

There was a small quirk of Keith’s lips before he was nodding his head, gesturing towards the space laid out before them. “Well? Let’s get started. First, put your hands on the console…”


	8. The Family of Green: Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Local gremlin, fancy cat, and space cowboy find older gremlin. Bonding ensues.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: The fight scene for this is something I've been anticipating. I knew how it was going to play out and the fact I was finally able to write it makes me happy. You'll most likely be hearing that a lot from me. "I've been planning this since before and am now able to write it so I am happy". I've got several moments like that ready for the future xD Some that won't even make an appearance till part 3! But no matter. Anyways thank you all for reading and for your comments. I hope this chapter leaves you all feeling warm and happy.

White stuttered in its slow movements. It trailed forward before stopping and then jerking sharply only to freeze just as abruptly. Despite the many stops, the Lion still trudged through space in gradual leaps, especially when Keith took over and opened up wormholes for them to traverse through.

“That’s it, steady now.” Keith encouraged from where he stood just behind the pilot’s seat.

“This is so weird. I can feel the energy draining out of me and moving through the ship. It’s like I’m controlling a puppet on strings.” Pidge narrated with closed eyes. She had found it hard to separate her sight from the Lion’s so she’d been flying with her eyes closed to avoid giving herself a headache. “It kinda feels like when I see through Green’s eyes and pilot. But it’s just me. It’s… Kinda lonely.”

“I won’t lie that having Red in my mind when I flew her was nice, but I’m kind of used to having a Lion playing around in my thoughts. So I don’t really feel like I’m alone.”

The door to the cockpit opened, Lotor stepping in and tucking away his communicator. A while ago he’d gone in the back to contact Acxa and see how things were going on their end. He also made sure to update Voltron on their status and the location they were headed to should they end up needing to call for backup.

“Allura sends her regards. And that someone named Ryner wishes Pidge well in her search.”

“Ah, Ryner!” Pidge hummed, fingers tapping against the consol. “We’ll have to stop and say hi after we get Matt. Oh geez, how do you think he’s going to react to you? To **Lotor**?”

“Who knows? We’ll just wing it.”

“Wing it? Really?”

“Hey, it’s gotten me through enough troubles so far.”

Lotor purses his lips and tilted his head, “Well Allura has also informed me that the Galra have already issued a warrant for my arrest. So maybe your brother has heard about it? If not we can always just tell him.”

Pidge nodded, lifting a hand to point it over her shoulder in the general direction Lotor was in. “That’s a good plan. I like that plan much more.” Amusement passed through the little group before Pidge made a confused sound. “Huh…? Hold on this… Can’t be right?”

The three stared at the visibly destroyed planet with tangible befuddlement. With a gentle nudge, Keith coaxed Pidge to detach her quintessence from the White Lion and switch positions with him. He then took up his seat once again, flying down low to the planet’s surface. 

Keith eased around floating chunks of rocks and landed the Lion in front of a large structure, figures of people carved into the stone’s surface. Together after donning their helmets, they made their way out of the Lion and to the front of the monolith, their confusion turning to horror when they read the tablet.

For Pidge, her helmet translated the text for her. However she didn’t even wait for the automatic translator to finish speaking before she was sprinting around the tablet and between the tall walls. Keith shot after her with a call of her name, Lotor not far behind. She nearly slipped and fell in her mad dash to get to the other side, scrambling in her haste to right herself. The moment she reached the end, Pidge froze in horror at the sight. Before her lay thousands upon thousands of graves laid out amongst the barren hills. 

“No…!” Pidge slid down the hill and didn’t stop even as she hit the ground hard.

“Pidge!” Both Lotor and Keith yelled, sliding down after her. Still they were a few steps behind, Pidge once again up and running past the stone pillars without a pause for breath.

“ _Please. Please don’t let him be here...!_ ” Keith begged under his breath, dread welling up and threatening to suffocate him. And when he saw Pidge collapse in front of a grave, his heart plummeted.

Keith crashed down beside her, arms wrapping around Pidge and pulling her close all in one motion. She wailed into Keith’s hold, apologizing to Matt for being too late to find him. Too late to save him.

“ _It’s not your fault Pidge_!” Keith whispered furiously, his mask covering the tears burning his eyes. “ _I should have gone after them! I shouldn’t have waited_!” Keith cursed, voice choking up, “ _I should have listened to you and took White out to search. It’s my fault for us taking so long. I promised you we’d get them if they disappeared and I didn’t stick to it! I should have kept my word! If I didn’t listen to the Guardian, maybe we could’ve- I could’ve_ -!” 

He trailed off, unable to find any more words to express the intense remorse he felt coursing through his veins. He now had another thing to add to the long list of regrets weighing down his shoulders. Another friend added to the list of people Keith couldn’t save. People Keith failed to protect like he promised.

Lotor stood off to the side and allowed them to have their moment. He was fortunate enough to not know the feeling of losing someone so important to you. Though that was mostly due to the fact that the amount of people he allowed into his heart were small in number. However, just because Lotor didn’t know the feeling personally, didn’t mean he was uncaring. His heart bled for Pidge’s sorrowful cries and the minute way Keith’s shoulders shook. Lotor hands clenched and he stood there, damning himself for being useless in providing comfort to the two.

Yet suddenly Pidge’s sobbing turned into confused sniffling, the girl leaning away from Keith’s hold and looking at the text still printed along her helmet’s visor. “Wait. Matt’s birthday is wrong.” Then she blinked and gasped, “A quantum frequency.”

“What?” Keith’s voice, though scratchy from holding back sobs, was still heavy in its confusion.

“It’s a message!” She stood up, grabbing her helmet. “The second encryption item? What is it?! The book! I-I have the book!” She pulled out the orange tablet, typing away furiously at it as Lotor came up to stand behind her with Keith. They watched her work, not understanding what she meant by it being a coded message in a quantum frequency. 

“Factoring dad and Matt’s additions and subtractions and…” She pulled her hand away and gasped at the numbers that appeared. “These are coordinates! He’s alive!!”

“Well what are we waiting for?” Lotor nudged them, smiling beneath his own helmet. “Let’s go!”

The three rushed back to White, Keith activating it before he even fully sat down. They were shooting off the planet in no time and Keith put the coordinates into White’s system. He frowned when the scanners appeared, flashing warningly at him.

“Galra nearby. We’ll have to figure out a way around them.” Keith bit his lip, “The coordinates aren’t that far. Not far enough to warrant a wormhole, anyways.”

“Try flying at a distance. Perhaps they might not pick us up on the scanners?” Lotor offered optimistically.

Keith grunted, guiding White away from the approaching Galra ships. “If we get spotted then I’ll drop you and Pidge off at the location.”

“I’m not leaving you to face them alone, Yorak.”

“Lotor.”

“Keith,” Pidge gave him a sharp nudge, “We don’t know what’s going to be there. If there are multiple rebels, it’ll be safer if Lotor isn’t there. We don’t know if word has reached them yet on him being an enemy to the empire.”

“Pidge is correct. It would be in our best interest to let me remain here on the White Lion till we can be certain we can trust them.” 

Keith sighed and rolled his eyes, shaking his head in defeat. “Fine. But you’d better be careful, Pidge.”

“Yeah yeah, I will.” She flashed Lotor a grin and subtly held out her hand for a fist bump. Lotor, having only recently learned what this gesture meant, was more than happy to reciprocate. The two bumped fists and grinned behind Keith’s back.

Yet not a second after, their smiles were wiped off as Keith cursed and swerved, dodging fighter fire. Three Galra fighters had broken off from the fleet and were chasing down the small White Lion. Thankfully only the sentry-driven ships were interested in tailing the blip on their radar so they didn’t have to worry about taking down two cruisers.

“Better get ready, Pidge! I’m dumping you in!” 

“Got it!” She rushed from the cockpit and towards the maw of the Lion, waiting for the signal. She could feel White shaking and swaying from avoiding attacks and flying towards their destination. Eventually White’s mouth opened, Pidge seeing the ground passing by beneath her at a quick rate. 

“Now!” Keith yelled just as White passed over a massive crater. 

Pidge dived out, jetpacking down because of the lack of gravity. She glanced up, watching White twirl away and guide the enemy ships far from her. Pidge bit her lip and silently prayed the two of them would be fine.

When she reached the bottom, she found a tunnel that branched off further from where she was. Traveling down it was tedious, her helmet leading her to what appeared to be a dead-end. Pidge frowned and looked around for possible answers on where to go. It was then that she noticed some rocks laying on the ground. 

This little tidbit was all the hint she needed that there was more to this place than she previously thought. A quick scan showed that there was indeed a hatch hidden beneath the rocks. It was camouflaged to blend into its surroundings so it was no wonder she hadn’t noticed it.

Pidge waited for the hatch to open before flying down and giving a cursory glance at the room around her. Taking interest in the large orange screen projecting information, she moved over to stand in front of it and curiously observe the data.

“This must be some kind of spy facility.”

She barely had time to notice the masked figure’s reflection in the screen before she was being attacked. Pidge dived to the side, avoiding the sweep of the pole and using one of the structure’s pillars as a boost to jump off of. She shot out her bayard, the wire getting tangled and the person yanking her down to the floor. 

Pidge growled as she slammed into the ground, rolling onto her back and brandishing her bayard threateningly. “What did you do with my brother?!”

The figure paused long enough for Pidge to launch the bladed grapple at them once again and knock them back. The figure’s mask was flung off and clattered to the floor several feet away just as Pidge was rushing in for another attack. Then the person turned to look at her, a familiar face staring up at her in surprise. Pidge froze, pulling back from her attack just in time. 

Matt sat there, a scar on his face and looking older than she remembered. He blinked, eyes wide and shining in disbelief. “Pidge?”

“Matt?”

In the next moment her bayard dissipated and they were hugging. Pidge choked on a sob, clinging to her brother’s clothes with a need bordering on desperate. Tears ran down her face, her voice shaking as she babbled. “After the Kerberos mission they said you were dead! But I knew in my heart that you weren’t!”

“I can’t believe you found me. It doesn’t seem possible.”

Pidge chuckled, the two of them pulling back so they could look at each other. “The thought of you and dad kept me going, inspired me to do the impossible.”

Matt laughed and rubbed away a stray tear, “Ok but seriously, how did you get all the way out here in space?”

“It’s a long story. Though you’ve mostly got Keith to thank for that.” Pidge grinned, taking great delight in the way Matt’s eyes widened.

“Keith??” Matt stood back and ran a hand through his hair, “That crazy kid actually did it. I mean he always threatened he’d track us down if we ever got lost, but I never thought he’d find the means to do it.”

“That’s not all he’s managed to do.” She placed a hand on her hip and cocked her head to the side. “Any chance you’ve heard of Voltron?”

“Of course I’ve heard of Voltron.”

“Well,” Pidge smugly puffed out her chest, “I’m one of the Paladins.”

Matt’s eyebrows flew up so high they were nearly lost in his hairline. “No way! Seriously?” He laughed and hugged Pidge, picking her off the ground. “That’s so awesome! My sister, a Paladin of Voltron!” He paused mid-spin, brows creasing and a frown of confusion pulling down his lips. “Though what does that have to do with Keith?”

“Oh, geez.” Pidge snorted, “You’re going to riot when you hear this.”

She was interrupted by a raspy voice hissing, “What a touching reunion.”

Both Matt and Pidge broke apart, glaring defensively at the intruder. “Who are you?!” She asked, reactivating her bayard.

The lizard-alien hummed, amusement in his voice. “Who I am is not important. I am here to collect a bounty on your brother Matt. But a Paladin of Voltron and an unknown White Lion? And from what I’ve heard, the Galran Prince is with you as well. How wonderful.”

Pidge’s eyes narrowed and with her other hand she pulled out the blade Keith and Lotor had given her. Her tightened grip relaxed slightly when she and Matt both told each other to stand back. She grinned, flexing her hold along both her bayard and her knife. “Let’s show this guy what the Holts are made of.”

The two rushed forward just as the bounty hunter did, Pidge being the first to be hit with one of the electric whips. She yelled, hitting the floor before springing right back up. 

The hunter spun, whip snapping out and barely missing Matt. Pidge had no time to doge so she raised her scaultrite blade in order to block the attack coming towards her. It made contact with the scaultrite and, instead of electrifying her, the dagger itself acted as a conduit and brought all the electricity towards its crystalline blade, the blue tint turning red and the gathered energy rippling along it with angry crackles.

“How…?” Pidge pushed away her shock and instead dug her feet into the ground and shot forward. It was scaultrite! Of course it could handle the energy of simple electric whips! It was durable enough to handle Altean energy, after all!! 

Pidge flipped over a swing of the whip, holding out her bayard and shooting it upwards. It wrapped around a pipe high above them and she used it to swing at the alien and aim a slice at its face with her energized dagger. The alien dodged, readying to launch an attack at her back only to be distracted by Matt coming at him.

Matt swung at the alien’s head, getting close and forcing him back with unrelenting swings. With a growl the hunter snapped out his arms, one of the whips catching against Matt’s staff. The hunter threw his weight into swinging Matt into a nearby wall and wrapping the other whip around him before activating the two.

Crying out in pain, Matt’s body jolted and he collapsed from the force of the electricity. Pidge gasped and dissipated her bayard before dropping to the ground and charging at the alien. With one hand she grabbed onto the bounty hunter’s arm, her jetpack providing her with an extra boost as she swung her body up and onto his shoulders. Pidge’s legs wrapped around his neck and she threw herself back, yanking the alien with her. 

He choked, tail lashing and hands dropping his whips in order to try and yank Pidge off. The Paladin held fast, squeezing her legs tighter and refusing to budge. Matt scrambled up and ran forward, slamming his staff into the alien’s face and knocking him to the ground along with Pidge.

Her back hitting the floor left Pidge slightly winded, but she still pulled herself out from beneath the alien and, with Matt’s help, was able to stand beside her brother. The bounty hunter remained on the floor where he fell, blood trickling out of his nostrils and eyes closed. When he didn’t show any signs of getting up, Pidge slowly moved over and nudged his arm with the tip of her boot.

“Is he dead?” Matt moved to stand beside her.

“No, he’s still breathing. So he’s just unconscious.”

“Oh, good.” Then Matt was grinning and slinging an arm over Pidge’s shoulder to drag her into a side hug. “Where the heck did you learn that move?? It was awesome!”

Pidge grinned, twirling her knife before sheathing it. “Learned it from Keith. He taught me a lot of awesome things!” 

Matt hummed and held his chin in thought, “Well from what I remember, he’s always been a good fighter. No surprise he’d pass on some of that knowledge. But you never told me what he has to do with Voltron.”

“Well we did get interrupted.” Pidge said with a gesture towards the alien. 

That caused Matt to grimace, “Right. Guess my station is compromised. Tell you what, why don’t you tell me about it while I gather all my stuff?” 

“Sure!”

The two moved to the yellow screen and Matt pulled up a rustic keyboard, plugging a little data-pad into a console before typing away on the keyboard. Pidge hopped up to sit on a metal box, leaning back on the palms of her hands and watching Matt work. She was content to stare at him for a bit, soaking in her brother’s presence after going so long without.

“So… Keith?”

“Right. You know how Keith did a lot of odd things back on Earth? And would have moments where he knew more than he would let on?”

“Of course. Dude didn’t know what milk was but was able to hotwire a Garrison vehicle like it was child’s play.” 

“Well there’s a reason for that. Turns out Keith-“

A deep growling from behind Pidge cut her off. Without them noticing the bounty hunter had stood up and was poised to charge, his lips pulled back to reveal rows of sharpened teeth.

“You’ll pay for that, whelp!” 

He only took a step before there was a shout of “Hey!” and the three of them were looking up. They saw a flash of someone dropping from the opened bunker entrance and the next thing they knew there was a loud crack from the person’s fist connecting to the alien’s jaw.

Like a sack of bricks the giant alien dropped to the ground from a one hit knock out. Matt tensed up at the appearance of this newcomer, the Galran purple’s on their outfit putting him on edge. However he was left confused when Pidge leapt off the crate and ran to the masked figure.

“Keith!! I found Matt!!” She exclaimed, grabbing his arm and tugging it eagerly. 

“Wah? Keith??” Matt lowered his staff in bafflement.

Looking up, Keith reached for his hood and pulled it back, the face mask disappearing and revealing that it was indeed Keith underneath it all. “Hey, Matt.” 

“No way! It really is you!” Matt laughed, dropping his staff and rushing up to hug the other. Keith quickly returned the hold, even going so far as to pick Matt off the ground in his enthusiasm. Matt clapped Keith’s back, grinning from ear to ear the moment he was set back on the ground. “Holy crap, dude! You just dropped from the ceiling like it was no problem!?! How are you still even standing at this point?! Your legs should be broken from the impact alone!”

Keith shrugged a shoulder and grinned, “Yeah well I’m built of stronger stuff than you.”

Matt blinked, brows furrowing as he took in Keith’s uncovered markings and white hair. Keith could see Matt’s thought process from the way his brows would furrow before shooting up into his hairline only to crease again. His brain was working rapid fire to connect the dots from what Pidge said, Keith’s appearance, and every little thing he knew about Keith that he’d written off as the guy just being quirky. Then suddenly Matt’s eyes were widening and he gasped so deeply his lungs rattled.

The human’s hands snatched out and grabbed Keith by the shoulders. “No way. **No way**!!!” 

With a laugh, Keith clasped Matt’s forearms. “Later. Are you guys ready to go? I want to get somewhere safe before we let you have a freak-out.” 

“Y-yeah I’m totally ready.” Matt quickly swiped his device and the orange screen disappeared. One by one the lights in the base around them seemed to turn off as Matt cut the power. 

Keith nodded, “Then let’s go.” 

He pulled up his hood and activated his mask before using his own jetpack to fly through the base’s entrance. Matt was quick to grab his helmet and put it on, the airlock seal activating. Pidge offered him a hand and used her jetpack to shoot them out of the entrance after Keith.

It was hard for Matt to remain quiet as they trailed out of the crater. His breath would hitch and he’d squeak out an excited question, Keith teasing him with vague answers and giving nothing away. By the time they reached the main chamber Matt was vibrating from anticipation and barely resisted the urge to grab Keith and shake him.

With his smile hidden, Keith contacted White. “ _Alright Lotor. Bring it down_.”

“ _On my way._ ”

“ _Wait hold on a sec, did you say Lotor? As in Prince of the Galra, Lotor? Zarkon’s son Lotor_?”

“ _Only in name is he that bastard’s son._ ” Keith growled, face trained up to watch for his Lion.

“ _That bounty hunter was serious?! You’re really traveling with the Galra Prince???_ ” Matt flailed his arms, flabbergasted.

Pidge rolled her eyes and grinned, playfully nudging Matt with her shoulder. “ _It’s a long story, but basically thanks to Keith he was on our side from the very beginning_.”

Smacking the front of his helmet in mocking’s of a face-palm, Matt exclaimed “ _Of course it’s Keith doing the impossible once again. I’m dying to know how you managed to pull that off._ ”

“ _Don’t worry. Once we get on my Lion I’ll blow your mind._ ”

“ _You’re a Paladin too?!_ ”

Keith laughed at that, the familiar roar of White echoing overhead before the Lion was shooting down into the canyon. “ _Nah,_ ” Keith hummed, glancing at Matt over his shoulder. “ _I’ve got my own thing going on._ ”

///

“So let me get this straight.” Matt closed his eyes, hands pressing to his mouth as he inhaled deep. Then he pointed his hands to Keith, sharp eyes serious. “You’ve really been an alien this whole time? And every time you talked to me about other planet shit, you weren’t just speculating but actually telling me the truth?”

“Yeah, pretty much.” Keith nodded from where he sat in front of Matt, legs crossed beneath him and his elbows propped on his thighs. One hand cradled his chin, the other was twirling around Krolia’s blade like he had not a care in the world.

“And he destroyed Promise!” Pidge yelled from beside the pilot’s chair.

“ **And you destroyed Promise??!!!!** ” Matt parroted, pointing an accusing finger at Keith. “You lied to my face!! My own son! How could you?!”

Keith rolled his eyes, “It was an accident! I was 14 and curious about Earth’s technology! I’ve never seen a Mars rover before.”

“That’s no excuse for murdering a poor little robot in cold blood!”

“Matt it was a hunk of metal. Not advanced enough to be considered top AI.”

“It could sing Jingle Bells!”

“Well Christmas music already sucks to begin with!”

“Your taste in music was voided from the moment you said you like country.”

From the front of the ship Pidge gave a loud groan, dramatically slumping against the seat and watching Lotor fly them through space. “How can you stand listening to them argue? I’m beyond glad to have my brother back, but at this point I kinda wanna flush them both out of the airlock.”

“Hm?” Lotor glanced at her and smiled, “Ah well I’ve learned to tune out arguing thanks to my generals. That and I have absolutely no clue what your brother or Yorak are fighting about, so I’m having a better time of ignoring them then you’d think.”

Pidge made a sound of envy, “Wish I didn’t understand them.”

Lotor could only hum at that, joining her in glancing back at the two who were in what appeared to be a wrestling match. Though it was mostly Keith pinning Matt to the ground with only one hand and the poor human wriggling like a worm trying to get out. 

The next sound Pidge made was a fond sigh, a smile quirking her lips. “I’m glad to see Matt taking it so well though. It’s… Relieving to have him here. I don’t think the shock’s fully hit yet.”

“Mmm. I can understand the sentiments. Waiting more than 10,000 deca-phoebs for Yorak to return was agonizing. I’ve gone through so many trials I could only wish he’d been there to help me through. But I was still fortunate enough to have those short 2 deca-phoebs before he left. I know for a fact if he had not entered my life, I would still be a damaged child trying to win the favor of a monster who does not care. At least now I can be a damaged adult around people I know give a damn about me.” Lotor bit out the word ‘monster’ like it was something particularly nasty. Though it was always that tone of voice he seemed to take whenever he talked about Zarkon.

“How’d you do it?” Pidge bit her lip and stared out into the endless expanse of space. “Go more than 10,000 deca-phoebs without your only source of comfort, live in a toxic environment with freaking Zarkon as your dad, probably a crazy amount of expectations, and God knows what else. It sounds… Traumatic.”

“It was.” Came Lotor’s grim reply. His mouth was pulled into a frown, gaze somewhat glassy as he was lost in memories. “It wasn’t as terrible when I was younger. Yorak’s support kept me strong through the years. And as I got older, I found other ways to apply myself and undermine my father’s control. Staying productive helped me immensely. Also I wasn’t completely alone. Before I met my generals, I had Kova by my side.”

“Kinda like a therapy animal?”

“Mmm yes, I do believe that would be the proper term.” Lotor’s expression eased out and he turned a small smile to Pidge. “I know we are still fighting against my father and his rule, but honestly speaking this is the best I’ve felt in deca-phoebs. Not even being banished brought me this much ease. For the first time in a long while I feel somewhat… Free.”

Pidge shared his faint smile and pushed up her glasses, “Well I’m glad. We’re here to support you. That’s what a team does.”

“Yes, a team.” Lotor sighed wistfully and tapped his fingers against the console, “I hope you’ll pardon the change of topic, but how have your Altean studies been going? Yorak told me you were attempting to learn?”

Now it was Pidge’s turn to pull a grimacing face, “Ugh. Attempting being the key-word. I keep struggling with the pronunciation.”

Lotor nodded grimly, “The kentwolian pronunciation. My old foe.” At that he suddenly looked thoughtful and gave Pidge an inquisitive look. “If you’d like, perhaps I can help you? I’ve experienced the struggle of learning Altean. What better person to help you understand?”

Pidge blinked in surprise for a moment before she was grinning widely. “Sure! That’d be more helpful than anything I’ve been doing! Allura and Coran don’t exactly do well explaining things as complex as the Altean language.”

Barking out a laugh, Lotor nodded his head in understanding. “That does indeed sound difficult. Well why don’t you show me what you know so far? And then we can go from there.”

“Alright!”


	9. Room for 5 More?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith takes a glimpse into the future

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This chapter was actually going to happen earlier, but I realized at the time it wouldn't have worked. But now I can include it! I'm pleased how things are working out xD From the chapter title alone you might be able to guess where this is going. But in case you can't, that's ok! Let the chapter itself be a surprise! Thank you for reading and for your comments! I hope this chapter makes you excited for what I have planned!

The transport pod’s doors opened, large aliens that were squished inside pouring out in a sweeping tide. Crammed into the very back was Coran and Zethrid, the larger Galra helping escort out an old alien with a face that resembled a saggy bulldog. Once she was out of the confines of the transport, she made a small gesture towards Zethrid.

Pursing her lips slightly, the half-Galra leaned down so she wasn’t towering over the old crone. Then the lady pat Zethrid on the cheek, chuckling fondly. “Such a sweet girl. Thank you for keeping me from getting squished.”

And with that an Olkari came over to help lead the woman some place to sit. Zethrid hummed, standing up straight and touching her cheek. “Feels odd getting thanked like this.”

“Well it’s because you’re doing such a good job!” Coran wheezed, moving to stand beside her and straighten out his rumpled clothes. “Many thanks for getting them all to fit in the lift! I’m sure I could have done it, but more hands are always better.”

Zethrid merely grunted, lip quirked in a grin as she began heartily patting Coran on the back. The first few times this had happened, he’d been jostled by the unexpected force put into it. But afterwards Coran quickly got used to the amount of strength Zethrid put into anything. 

“Don’t sweat it, old man.” She said.

From off to the side the rest of Voltron and Lotor’s generals stood, Lance and Ezor the only ones sitting. Allura flashed a smile to the two of them and called to get their attention. “Zethrid, Coran, is that the last of them?” 

They turned to her, Coran nodding once. “That’s it. A few hundred more souls looking for a new home.”

“A few hundred more soldiers in the fight against the Galra.” Shiro said with a pleased smile.

Just then a roar broke out above them, a massive form flying overhead and casting a shadow. Everyone’s heads snapped up and there was excited exclamations at the sight of the gleaming White Lion flying above them.

“Hey, they’re back!” Hunk yelled, hopping off the steps and rushing to where White was landing. 

The others were not far behind and even the Altean mice were eager to greet their missing friends. Keith was the first to exit the Lion, the mice scampering up his leg and chittering in excitement. He chuckled, picking up a few and handing them to Lotor the moment he stepped down beside him. Lotor blinked, staring down at the happy mice in befuddlement.

“Hey guys,” Keith said with a small smile, “We’re back.” 

“And we brought company.” Lotor added, pausing in poking the chubbiest of the mice. 

It was then that everyone turned their attention to Pidge. She was coming out of the ship with a large grin on her face and a pep in her step. Trailing behind her with a shockingly similar face was no doubt her brother.

“Hey, everybody.” Pidge said, turning partially and gesturing to the man behind her. “This is my brother Matt.” 

Matt inclined his head slightly, “Hey, everybody.” 

Pidge gave a quick introduction for him and once she announced Allura, Matt’s expression was quick to change. Yet before he could even take a step forward to proclaim something no doubt cheesy and eye rolling, Keith’s hand snatched out and grabbed him by the cowl of his cape. Matt jerked slightly, blinking before he looked over his shoulder at a pointed glare being given to him by Keith.

“Be respectful. That’s my **Princess.** ” Keith stressed the last word, his eyes narrowing slightly. 

If the way Matt swallowed was anything to go by then he heard the threat loud and clear. Keith felt no shame in cowing Matt like that. He threatened to kill Lance when he’d said the idea of Allura breaking him was hot. Keith was not above threatening his friends if it meant they kept a modicum of decorum around his Princess.

He released Matt and watched with hawk-like vision as the other cleared his throat and offered a shockingly polite bow to the royal. “Princess Allura, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Allura smiled, seemingly oblivious to the meaning behind the exchange between Matt and Keith. “Likewise. Pidge has spoken quite a lot about you. It’s an honor to meet the family of someone so important to me.”

Matt straightened from his bow and flashed a smile he thought might’ve been charming but was really just a goofy grin. However whatever words he might’ve said died on his tongue the moment he caught sight of the person standing just behind the group before him.

“Shiro?” He whispered almost in disbelief. Despite the fact he _knew_ Shiro was a part of Voltron, seeing him here alive and whole was another story entirely.

Shiro’s wide, easy smile was just the same as he remembered. He’d changed, sure. But so had Matt. They were both a little different and that was ok. Because right there before him was his best friend. His best friend that he missed just as much as he missed his family.

Matt rushed forward, tossing out dignity in order to fling himself and Shiro and cling to him like a barnacle. “You’re really alright!!! After you took my place in the arena, I never learned what happened to you! I didn’t know if you were ok or were still trapped there!! I tried to find you, but where I was stationed didn’t allow for me to go out much. I tried listening for any signs of you!! A-and then-!” Matt choked off, burying his face in Shiro’s shoulder and squeezing him tighter. “I never thought I’d see you again, man.” 

“I’m here, Matt.” Shiro hugged his friend tight, feeling his own eyes sting at the relief of knowing one of his best friends was alive and well. He then pulled away to smile over at Pidge. “She never gave up on finding you.”

Matt laughed, following his gaze to stare warmly at his sister. “Yeah, she can be pretty stubborn at times. I’m pretty sure she got it from Keith.”

From where he stood with Lotor chatting with his generals, Keith sent a glare and called, “Don’t bring me into this! She was stubborn long before I even met her!”

That sparked a round of laughter from the gathered group. Then at Pidge’s insistence she dragged Matt off to give him a tour. Keith watched them leave for a bit before he sighed heavily, stretching his arms and popping his back. 

“Well I’m glad that’s over. I need a nap. And a shower.”

“Ahem,” Lotor cleared his throat pointedly, “Forgetting something, Yorak? About White?”

Keith then blinked before he hissed between his teeth. “Right.”

Shiro frowned in concern, moving so he could stand closer to the group. “What’s wrong with White?”

“Well… While we were tracking down Matt, we ran into some rebels being attacked by Galra. I didn’t exactly want to let them get killed, so I used White to destroy the ships. Not only that, but a bounty hunter followed after us and has seen White. I’m not sure how fast word is going to spread, but I’m worried the Galra will know about my Lion before long.”

Allura sucked in a sharp breath and crossed her arms over her chest, a complicated look passing over her face. “That is indeed a problem. It would be best if… For the time being… You hold off on using White for anything?”

“Or maybe have Pidge equip a cloak on it like she did with Green! At least that way you can sneak around without a problem.” Lance suggested from the side.

Keith hummed thoughtfully, “That could work. I’ll talk to her about it later. In the meantime,” He turned to look at Lotor and his generals, “If White’s going to be benched till we get that cloaking up then I might as well get you guys to your ship.”

“It would be for the best.” Lotor offered a polite smile to the other Paladins. “Apologies for not staying long. I hope my generals were of some use?”

“Oh of course! Their aid was beyond helpful. Acxa, Narti, Zethrid, Ezor, thank you all so much for helping us!” Allura said with a brilliant smile.

Ezor chirped a happy ‘welcome’, while Narti and Zethrid merely nodded, Acxa’s ‘you’re welcome’ more subdued but just as genuine. They didn’t linger long in giving their farewells, Keith visibly desperate for a shower and a nap. It has been a very emotional and tiring past few days, after all.

It only took about 20 doboshes before Keith returned. But then he had to sit through an impromptu dinner with Ryner and the rest of Voltron. There Pidge regaled their journey to find Matt and the dangers they went through. And once she began to enthusiastically describe the battle against the bounty hunter, Matt couldn’t hold back from joining in and reenacting it with her. Keith had been extremely proud of her for managing to execute the move she’d been struggling with for ages. He made sure she knew how proud he was, the little Paladin beaming like a star.

Then their enthusiastic retelling switched to when Keith made his appearance, Pidge and Matt equally embellishing the story as they saw fit. Keith had tried to straighten it out with the truth, but his explanation was just steamrolled over by the siblings so he settled for just listening and laughing with the group. 

Lance’s remark of “ _Wish I’d been there to see Keith drop in like a descending angel dishing out justice!_ ” caused a round of uproarious laughter from the humans and confusion from the aliens. Though when Coran and Allura looked to Keith for answers, he merely waved them off with a blush. There’s no way he’s going to explain what that was. It was too embarrassing.

Eventually the merriment died down and Keith was finally allowed to take a shower and wash away the stress of the day. Yet instead of going off to his room and sleeping, the Altean found himself in his and Shiro’s lounge. The man was already sitting there like he expected Keith to show up.

“Hey,” He said in greeting.

“Hey.”

Shiro watched Keith none too gently tug a brush through his hair, wincing at the way it got snagged in a knot and Keith just tried to yank it through. Even with his hair still damp from his shower that did little to help the brush pass through without struggling. The sight was too much for Shiro to handle and so he made the executive decision to intervene on the behalf of Keith’s poor hair.

“Hand it here?” Shiro asked, giving Keith room to refuse.

But of course when would Keith ever deny Shiro something? So without much fuss he handed over the brush and found himself sitting on the floor between Shiro’s legs. The human started with the ends of Keith’s white locks, working his way through in sections.

“I’m always stunned by how pretty your hair is.” Shiro hummed after a moment of silence. “It’s like starlight.”

Keith snorted, tilting his head back so he could look up at Shiro. “Starlight? Really? That’s the best you could come up with?”

Chuckling, Shiro coaxed Keith’s head back to facing forward. “Well I could compare it to freshly fallen snow. Or the soft white of a swan’s feathers. Or would you prefer I mention how it reminds me of the beauty Pinkie held?”

That got a startled bark of laughter from Keith. He held his stomach from the force of his laughter, shoulders shaking in mirth. “Pinkie?? You mean that rat you and Matt found?! That’s even worse!!”

“How is that worse? I think it’s the highest compliment. Pinkie was such a cute little white rat. Had the pinkest nose and the biggest eyes.” Shiro gave a wistful sigh, “She was taken from us too soon.”

“Of course she was taken. You think Adam would’ve let you keep a wild rat on Garrison property? In your _shared_ room, might I add? I’m surprised you managed to hide her from him for so long!” 

“Honestly, me too. Adam was always too observant for his own good.” Shiro’s laughter tapered off, his smile growing somewhat sad. However because Keith was facing away from him, he was unable to see the shift in expression. “Speaking of Adam… How was he? After… After Kerberos?”

Keith’s body stiffened and he sucked in a sharp breath of air. He was silent for a moment, hands clenching in his lap before he was exhaling and letting go of the tension in his frame. “He was… A wreck. I would’ve been too, but I knew you’d come back. But Adam… He didn’t have that assurance. So of course he believed you were dead. We didn’t really talk much after that. Too busy dealing with the pain in our own ways. Then I was resigning from the Garrison and everything just fizzled from there. Pidge kept tabs on him for me, though. Last she heard, he went on a date.”

“That’s good! That’s good…” Shiro repeated quieter. He paused in brushing Keith’s hair, hesitating. “Do you think… He’ll forgive me for not coming home?”

“What?” Keith twisted around so fast he startled Shiro. “’ _Forgive you_ ’? Shiro! It wasn’t your fault the Galra took you! It wasn’t your choice! Did you want to become a prisoner?!”

“Of course not! But-“

“But nothing.” Keith interrupted with a glare, “You were taken against your will and forced to fight for their twisted enjoyment. Absolutely none of that can be held against you. No matter what happened in the arena, you had no other choice. You did what you could to survive. Adam would understand you couldn’t come home. Everyone would! Hell, unless the Garrison is covering up when you _did_ crash on Earth, then he should be _aware_ you came back. At most he’ll want an explanation but that’s it. He won’t blame you for something out of your control.”

Shiro blinked wide eyes at the conviction in Keith’s voice. He spoke with such a firm confidence that Shiro couldn’t find it in himself to doubt Keith’s words. So he found his surprised expression melting into one of pure happiness. He grinned, chuckling softly and ducking his head to hide his expression. Sadly it failed since Keith was looking up into his face.

“Thanks, Keith.” Shiro mumbled, hand absentmindedly patting Keith’s head.

Keith quirked a grin and turned back around. He nudged Shiro’s leg with his shoulder, “I’m only telling the truth. Just watch. After this is all over and you get back to Earth, Adam will be happy to see you.”

“I hope so.” Shiro paused, “I’m glad he’s moving on though. He deserves to live his life.”

“You deserve that too, Shiro. Once this is all over you can do whatever you want.” 

“And you’ll still follow Allura and Coran, right?” 

“Yep.” Keith nodded, closing his eyes and relaxing under the steady and soothing feel of Shiro gently pulling the brush through his hair. “And maybe spend some time with Lotor. Support him as he steps up as King. He’ll need all kinds of help undoing all the damage Zarkon has done.”

Shiro hummed, running his fingers through Keith’s hair to make sure he got all the knots. And despite the fact the strands slipped through his fingers like silk, Shiro still found himself repeating the action. “That’s an understatement. But he won’t be alone in that. He’ll have Voltron’s support, the Blades, the Rebels, and hopefully the Galra?”

“Maybe. He’ll have to be acknowledged as their King first. And even then there might be Galra who challenge him for it. We’ll just have to wait and see.”

“I guess. At the very least we’ll be waiting together.” 

Conversation after that took a less serious turn. Shiro continued to pet Keith’s hair and even moved to rubbing at his neck. That led to his large hands sliding over Keith’s shoulders and gradually working out any of the knots he could feel. Keith groaned from the contact, slumping against Shiro’s leg and resting his cheek on his thigh. The way Shiro’s thumbs dug into the meat of his back really shouldn’t have felt as good as it did. 

“Sorry, am I doing it too hard?” Shiro asked, pausing for a moment.

Keith, considerably drowsy and practically laying limp against Shiro like a deflated balloon, made a garbled stringing of words that sounded like a whine of protest. Shiro’s laugh was deep and breathy, rumbling in his chest and somehow managing to put Keith further at ease. 

“Alright.” He said like he understood Keith’s complaints. And perhaps he did. If anyone on this ship could discern Keith’s many nuances, it was Shiro.

Before he knew it, Keith found himself drifting off to sleep to the feel of Shiro’s warm hands pressing along his back. However Keith’s awareness did not fade. It was like he blinked one moment and the next he was clinging to a large asteroid chunk. His breathing was hard and his hands ached from the grip he had on the rock. The edges of his sight was hazy and warbled like a dream, Keith instantly pinpointing that this was a vision. It had been a while since he had one that he nearly forgot what the sensation felt like.

“ _Keith!_ ”

Keith’s head instantly snapped up at the sound of that familiar voice. His throat tightened and his chest ached with emotion, the urge to cry out nearly overpowering. Floating towards him was Krolia, her face mostly visible through her mask. Keith’s eyes darted over her form, drinking in the sight of his mother after having gone without her for so long. 

Krolia reached for him, Keith’s hand coming out and meeting her halfway. Just then from his peripherals he saw a flash of bright light, both him and Krolia turning to look. 

He suddenly felt himself tugged forward into Krolia’s hold. She twisted around so that her back was facing the blinding light, shielding her Kit from the oncoming blast. The light grew near blinding and suddenly Keith’s entire vision whited out.

The cry of Krolia’s name lodged in his throat for a moment and then like expelling a bad cough, Keith jolted forward and brokenly yelled out, “Krolia!”

“Keith!”

Hands held his face, tilting his head back and pushing his bangs behind his ears. “Keith breath.” Came Shiro’s soothing voice. He firmly ordered Keith to inhale, then exhale, all the while his hands brushed against his cheek and arm in soothing motions. “That’s right, just breathe. You’re here in the castle ship. You fell asleep and had a dream. Or a vision? One of those.”

Using Shiro as something to ground himself with, he closed his eyes and focused on evening out his breathing. When he felt more confident he wasn’t going to panic, Keith raised a hand and cupped the one against his cheek. 

“I’m fine now,” He whispered with an exhale, “It was a vision.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“… Mmm.” Keith opened his eyes and looked up into Shiro’s concerned face. “I had a vision of Krolia. We were floating in something like an asteroid field? I think? There wasn’t much time to get a good look at what was around us. But then there was this bright light and she used her body to shield me from whatever it was.”

Shiro’s brows furrowed and he glanced off to the side, “I wonder what that was.” Then he blinked and looked back at Keith with a small grin, “But at least you know you’re going to be reunited with Krolia sometime in the future.”

Keith couldn’t hide his grin at that and chuckled softly. “Yeah. That’s true. I… I’m going to get to see my mom. It’s been so long and…” Keith felt his throat seize up with the threat of oncoming tears. He blinked past the burning in his eyes and tried to get a hold on his emotions.

Large arms snaked around his shoulders and Keith was promptly pulled into a large, warm chest. Shiro’s voice was like a rumbling purr against Keith’s cheek, the vibrations going from his chest and traveling directly through Keith. It caused his shorter body to shudder slightly from the sensation. “It’s going to be alright, Keith. Whatever happens, you two will get through it together. I know you and from what Tex told me of your mom, you’re just as stubborn as her.”

With a snort Keith wrapped his arms around Shiro’s waist and clung to his shirt. His tepid laughter turned into strained sniffles, the threat of him outright sobbing close. He was tired, comfortable, and had the assurance that he would see Krolia again. He’d deal with whatever danger they’d be in later. For now the safety of Shiro’s arms and his soothing warmth was enough to push Keith into letting out his bottled up emotions. However before the tears could begin sliding, they were interrupted by the blaring alarm of the castle ship’s system.

Keith and Shiro jolted, eyes snapping up to lock with each other before they were standing and scrambling out of the room. Yet even as they ran through the halls, Shiro kept a tight hold on Keith’s hand. A grounding presence while Keith struggled to center himself.

They were the first to enter the bridge, Keith letting go of Shiro’s hand in order to type away at the central control panel. By the time the system turned on and a screen appeared, the doors had opened and the rest of the team came flooding into the room.

“What is it?!” Allura demanded, hands gathering her sleeping gown up so she wouldn’t step on it in her haste.

“A distress signal!” Keith connected the call and the moment the face appeared on the screen, he felt his heart stop and the blood drain from his face.

“ _Voltron!_ ” Lotor exclaimed, wincing and stumbling as a blast caused the communicator to crackle and pop with static.

“Lotor! What’s going on?!” Keith demanded, eyes wide in panic.

“ _Our ship was spotted by a lone fighter. We didn’t realize it was trailing us until it was too late._ ”

“ _It’s like our location was sent to every Galra battle ship this side of the cosmos!!!_ ” Ezor yelled in alarm, the half-Galra running past the screen and tripping as another explosion shook the ship.

Lotor cursed, wincing from the impact. “ _They’ve damaged our engine. We’re stranded without a means to escape! They have tried boarding but we’ve sent out our fighters to keep them at bay. However I’m afraid I do not know how much time that will buy us._ ”

Keith’s breath hitched and he felt himself break out in a cold sweat. “Lotor. Give me your coordinates.”

“ _Yorak, it’s too dangerous for the White Lion to appear!_ ”

“Give me your coordinates, damn it!”

“Lotor please! Let us come to your aid! Voltron could help!” Allura pleaded with just as much urgency as Keith.

“ _I don’t doubt that you could. But I would rather not risk it. We are going to try escaping in one of our spare fighters, however I wanted to let you know what has happened in case it fails._ ”

“Lotor!!”

“Wait!!” Pidge rushed up, staring up at the screen with wide eyes unobscured by her glasses. “The coordination’s of your ship’s hangar! Give us that and Keith can open a wormhole inside! He’s done that before back when he was stuck on Oriande!”

“Yes, that! Lotor, give me the coordinates of your ship’s hangar _exactly_.”

The hesitation that passed across Lotor’s face was visible, as was the slight fear in his eyes. He couldn’t hide the fact that he was anxious at being captured. The idea that he would be dragged back to face Haggar and Zarkon terrified him. So with little fanfare he typed away on his ship’s computer in order to get the coordinates for his hangar. However just as he read them over there was a crash and a brilliant ball of fire erupted a good distance behind him. He was flung forward with a cry, shrapnel flying across the screen before it glitched out and the call ended.

Keith cursed, turning around and booking it out of the room. He slid through the halls, nearly tripping as he sprinted to get to White. He didn’t know if his friends were following after him or what. It was hard for him to hear anything past the blood pounding in his ears and the cold fear that gripped at his chest. 

The moment he entered the hangar White instantly scooped him up and began moving before Keith even reached the cockpit. With a roar a wormhole appeared and the massive Lion was flying through at a breakneck speed. 

He crashed out onto the other side and nearly barreled right into one of the extra fighters in Lotor’s ship. White dug their claws in and skidded to a stop, their chest hitting the ground with a clang and their mouth dropping open. 

Keith shot out like a rocket and instantly was hit by a wave of heat. Around him was pure Hell. Parts of the ship were on fire, metal creaking and chunks breaking off the ceiling and scattering around precariously. Around him the ship creaked and groaned like it was a second away from collapsing like wet paper. 

“Lotor!” Keith yelled, his voice tinged with panic. He had to find him. He had to find his Kit.

“Yorak! Over here!”

Keith rushed towards Acxa’s call, picking up debris and chucking it to the side. He cleared a path to the hangar’s door, finding Lotor and his generals pressed into a corner. They had been blocked in by a broken beam, Zethrid using the bulk of her body to shield her companions. Because of this she had blood splattering areas of her body, a stream of it going down her face and causing her to close one of her eyes. She was the one with the most injuries, the others only having a few scrapes and burns. Though out of all of them, Lotor was the only one unconscious. He had a deep laceration on his thigh that was steadily trickling bluish blood, his limp form held between Acxa and Ezor.

The sight had Keith freezing for a moment in panic. But he pushed it down, there’d be time to worry later. “Come on, we’ve got to go!” Keith said urgently, helping pick up the beam from Zethrid’s back. 

The large woman nodded, pulling her team up and bending down to carry Lotor up. However Keith, seeing her pained wince, took over for her. She grunted her thanks and clasped a bloodied hand to his shoulder before helping Ezor stand. Together they hobbled quickly towards White, the ship seeming to rattle with every step. The warship suddenly jolting beneath their feet had Keith lurching forward and almost losing his grip on the unconscious Prince. 

He hissed, tightening his grip on Lotor and speaking through clenched teeth. “Was that another hit?”

Zethrid grimaced and spit out a gob of purple blood. “No, they stopped firing about two doboshes ago.”

“Either they’ve boarded us or attached a tether.” Acxa said with a frown.

“Doesn’t matter. We’re getting out of here.” Keith’s eyes flashed and White rumbled, taking large steps to reach them. Then Keith was ushering everyone inside and taking up the rear to make sure no one was left behind. He didn’t even waste time going back to the cockpit and instead lingered right in White’s mouth to pilot. 

One wormhole later and they were back in the castle ship’s hangar, White once again dropping to the ground the second they were stable. Keith booked it down the ramp, Lotor’s generals hot on his heels. Waiting at the edge of the hangar was the rest of Voltron, Coran leading the way as stretchers were sprinted over to the ship.

“Is everyone ok?! Any serious injuries?” Coran asked, eyes darting over the ones he could visibly see and lingering on the unconscious Galra in Keith’s arms.

Acxa, her voice raspy and a hand holding her side, spoke almost clinically as she recounted the injuries she personally catalogued. “Lotor has an injury on his thigh and hit his head after being flung by an explosion. He has been unconscious this entire time however his breathing is still relatively stable. Zethrid took a few hits and protected Lotor from another blast. Her back is suffering burns and she has some shrapnel lodged in from the impact. Ezor landed on her arm and moving it causes pain. We did not have the time to check how extensive the damage is. Narti has a laceration on her back and some burns that she got protecting Kova. I have a puncture wound in my side and have some minor burns, but other than that I am stable. I only had time to make note of all our outward injuries so I cannot say for certain if any of us have a concussion or not.”

“Well that’s a lot!” Coran grimaced and nodded, “Let’s get you all to the infirmary first and we can go from there. Everyone on a cot!”

With Coran delegating roles, everyone who was injured were set on a cot and pushed towards the infirmary. Coran then promptly kicked out anyone who’d do more harm than good, that being nearly everyone. Only Matt, Allura, and Hunk were allowed to stay. Matt because he had some skills in tending to injuries, Allura because she had gifted abilities in healing, and Hunk because he had steady hands and Coran needed that if he was going to be removing pieces of metal. 

The moment the doors closed Keith was pacing up and down the corridor like a trapped Lion. He chewed his lip bloody, hands shaking and apprehension turning him into a fretting mess. Just as he was making another round of pacing, large hands came out and clasped his shoulders.

“Keith.”

He froze, violet eyes flicking up and locking with gunmetal silver. Shiro was staring at him in visible concern, Lance and Pidge a step behind and sharing the same look. 

“They’ll be fine, Keith. You got to them in time.”

Keith breathed in harshly through his nose and found himself clinging to Shiro’s shirt. His brows furrowed, looking almost lost. “I-I know but I can’t calm down.”

“That’s ok dude! Being worried is fine!” Lance said quickly, rushing over so he could stand beside them. “They’re important to you! Of course you’re going to be freaking out!”

“But like Shiro said, they’ll be fine!” Pidge added, “And once we pop them into the healing pods they’ll be all better!”

They were right. Lotor and the others would be fine. They were safe and managed to escape Zarkon’s grasp. He nodded, subtly tugging on Shiro’s shirt. The taller human cracked a smile and wordlessly pulled him in for a tight hug, Lance and Pidge wrapping their own arms around Keith and offering comfort.

“But hey,” Lance said after a while of silence, amusement in his voice. “Looks like we’re getting new ship mates!”

The laugh that ripped out of Keith was so abrupt he felt startled. He found himself grinning and buried his face into Shiro’s chest just to avoid it being pointed out. Still he mumbled softly, “Yeah. We do.”


	10. Training for the Future

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith teaches his friends by letting them beat each other up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: So not gonna lie, I'm not entirely satisfied with this chapter. I edited the Hell out of it so now it's something I can tolerate, but I still wish it was "more". I've rewritten the entire chapter three times and it's... Still not where I'd like it to be. Not only that but I've also run out of pre-made chapters so I'll be going on another break. Sorry if this chapter disappoints you, I promise I'm just as disappointed. Until next time! Please stay safe and take care of yourselves.

The moment Lotor and his generals were moved to the healing pods the team collectively settled around the room to wait. Coran and Shiro had gotten a ton of extra pillows and blankets and promptly passed them around. Thus marked the impromptu sleepover.

Because the damage to their bodies wasn’t too extreme, Coran said they’d be in there for only an hour at most. If anything, Zethrid was the only one who’d be in there longer because of all the shredding done to her back. So the least they could do was settle in and wait for them to come out.

Despite the fact that there was more than enough blankets to go around, Keith and Shiro found themselves huddled together in one of the bigger blankets. And settled on Keith’s lap languidly watching Narti’s pod was Kova, the alien cat sticking close to one of the only people here he knew. Though he did allow Shiro to reach out a hand and scratch beneath his chin. That set off a pleased rumble in the Altean feline’s throat.

Lance stared at the purring cat for a while before he said, “Anyone else notice that Lotor and his general’s uniform match Kova’s colours?”

A moment of silence and then…

“Oh my God they totally do.”

“Lotor made his uniforms match his cat!!! That’s so freaking cute!!”

“That’s such a nerd move oh God.”

The team had a moment longer to coo at Lotor’s actions before Keith told them, in amusement, to not mention this “revelation” to Lotor. Apparently Keith gave the young Prince enough flak when they met up after Keith’s 10,000 deca-phoebs of rest.

Allura sat down a holo-pad and let it power off with a tired sigh. “Well the drones have finished cleaning out five of the vacant rooms. Once Lotor and his generals come out, they’ll be able to rest on actual beds. As for the spare clothes the fabricators are making, those won’t be done for another ten or so doboshes. They should be sent here the moment they’re completed.”

“Sounds good. Make sure they have some spare clothes for training tomorrow.” Keith said with a stifled yawn.

Lance groaned from where he was using Hunk as a pillow. “Come on man! You really wanna talk about training now??”

“Aw no way! Keith teaches you guys how to fight??” Matt yawned and snuggled deeper into his and Pidge’s blanket. “I want to see Keith teach!”

Keith huffed slightly, “I guess I can fit you into the roster. We’ve got more people so the pairings should be interesting.”

By his side Shiro gave a curious hum, “Who do you plan on pairing together?”

“That’s for me to know and you all to be shocked by.”

“Look man,” Lance said with a groan, “I don’t care who you put me with just don’t let it be Zethrid. She’ll rip off my arm and beat me with it.”

His dramatics earned a sleepy laugh from the team and an eye roll from Keith. He wasn’t that stupid enough to let Zethrid and Lance fight. That’d be less of a spar and more of a slaughter. Especially since Zethrid rarely held back even in spars.

After an hour of waiting, true to Coran’s words the pods began to beep. First was Narti’s. The sound of it going off startled awake those who’d been dozing. And for the ones who managed to fall asleep, they were jolted awake by the jerking of the people they were leaning on.

Kova let out a pointed ‘mrow’ and leapt from the folds of the blanket before taking a seat right in front of Narti’s pod. It opened with a hiss and she slumped forward, nearly falling out if not for Keith reaching her in time.

After catching her, Keith took her hand in his and said, “Narti, squeeze if you can hear me.”

She was unresponsive for a moment before her hand tightened weakly. That was all the prompting Kova needed before he was leaping to her shoulders and purring with such force his entire body was vibrating. Narti tilted her head and nuzzled his face in response.

With Keith’s help he shuffled her over to the group just as Ezor and Acxa’s pods beeped and opened with a hiss. This time it was Allura and Coran who caught the half-Galra. They too were moved to where Keith placed Narti. Then it was Lotor emerging from his pod. All that was left was to wait for Zethrid to be done.

Keith gave them all a brief rundown of what happened and how they’ll do things going forth. Lotor and his generals took it relatively well all things considered. While this went on Allura gave them the clothes the fabricator had made. They were basic Altean sleeping robes, nothing fancy. She promised that tomorrow they could work with the fabricator to make themselves new clothes more to their tastes.

When Zethrid exited the healing pod, they gave her the same rundown before Coran was ushering everyone back to their rooms for sleep. Keith’s shout of “Get it while you can! Drills first thing in the morning!” had nearly everyone groaning bitterly.

As Coran led Lotor’s generals down the hall, Keith stopped the Prince for a moment to yank him into a tight hug. Whatever words he whispered to the other was lost in the quiet of the ship. But when Lotor pulled away his eyes were slightly misty and he looked equal parts distressed and happy. He gave Keith’s shoulder a small pat before turning around and following after Coran.

Only when it was just he and Shiro left in the hall did all the events of the day finally catch up to Keith. He practically collapsed standing, Shiro biting out a curse just as he caught the other.

“Hey, you ok?!” His gaze darted all over Keith to try and find any possible sign that he was injured. Other than the smearing of soot and smelling like fire, Keith looked relatively fine.

The Altean groaned from Shiro’s hold, his eyelids drooping. “’M gonna pass… The fuck out…”

Shiro blinked in surprise for a moment before he was laughing. He gently coaxed Keith to wrap his limp arms around Shiro’s neck before he bent down and hoisted the other up in a Princess carry.

“Go ahead and sleep, Keith. I’ll get you back to your room.”

The only response Shiro received was a dull hum. But that was fine. Shiro smiled and made sure his grip on Keith was solid before he traversed the dimly lit halls of the castle.

///

“Alright everyone line up.”

There was grumbling and yawning from several people as they all filed in to stand in front of Keith. The Altean walked down the row of humans and aliens, eyes darting over sleepy faces. As much as he wanted to smile in amusement he had to keep some modicum of seriousness while dishing out orders.

“The Paladins of Voltron are used to sparring against each other since they’ve done it so often. However because Lotor and his crew are now a part of ours, we’ve got more to work with. I’ve seen both crews spar before so I know what I’m working with. The only one I haven’t seen fight is Matt.” Keith’s violet eyes darted to said rebel, “And I’m curious at how far you’ve come since our days at the Garrison. So after warmups, first match will be against you and Shiro.”

Stretching helped everyone grow more awake by the time the sparring session started. Keith had everyone stand to the side to observe while he gave a rundown of the “rules”.

“Hand-to-hand combat only, no weapons. First one out of the ring loses. However for some fights I will be placing handicaps. Not every fight will get them so if I don’t say anything then just assume you are to spar as normal.” As Keith said that he gave a nod to the observation deck where Coran was stationed.

Panels on the floor shifted before a circular dais was being raised from the floor. It stood above the ground by at least two inches and had a glowing blue ring lining the edge of it.

Keith made a gesture to the platform, “The blue ring along the edge will turn red and a buzzer will go off if you step out of its boundaries. Whoever gets knocked out has to run laps. So better win.”

And with that the match started. The blue ring gave a soft chime the moment Matt and Shiro stepped over it. Once inside the two seemed to have flashbacks of Garrison training. Keith knew this was most likely the case when they dropped into the familiar Garrison style for sparring.

“You’re not at the Garrison anymore!” Keith barked, startling the two. “You’re thousands of lightyears out in space! Show us what you’ve learned out here!”

It was almost as if that was what they needed to hear. Matt’s entire form squared up and his hands flexed like they were missing his staff. However it was only a moment before he was darting forward with a kick aimed at Shiro’s side. Shiro’s arms came up to block and then he was swinging a right hook at Matt.

Back at the Garrison the two of them would’ve probably never sparred against each other. The Garrison liked to do that silly “weigh-class” system for older cadets. Which Keith thought was completely unrealistic. What made them think that every fight they’ll be in would match their weight-class perfectly? It was stupid. Which was why Keith had his team train to take down opponents bigger and stronger than themselves. If they could incapacitate someone that towered over them then they would be able to handle most Galra.

“Matt, your sides are completely open! You don’t have a staff keeping your opponent at a distance so stop acting like you do!”

“Shiro! Don’t give Matt an opening just so you can land a hit! That’s reckless!”

“Keep moving! You stand still and you’re dead!”

One after the other Keith kept shouting criticism and corrections. However despite this he was quite pleased with how long Matt was staying in the ring with Shiro. While Shiro had more physical strength going for him, Matt was quick on his feet. He just seemed more unused to hand-to-hand than Keith would like. For as long as Matt decided to stay with them the Altean vowed to help his friend get better at it.

Eventually the match ended with Shiro as the winner. Matt had tried to throw a punch that the other caught. Then one forceful shoulder check later and Matt was laying halfway off the platform. The ring under his back turned red and a loud siren went off around the room.

“Win goes to Shiro. Matt, you have a five minute break before taking twenty laps around the room.”

“Twenty?!” Came the collective yell from Matt and several others.

Matt wheezed, pushing his sweaty bangs off from his face and groaning. “Are you always this harsh with training?!”

Keith smirked, “I could be worse if I need to be. Just don’t give me a reason to and you’ll be fine.”

Matt could only grumble in response. Shiro, ever the gracious winner, smiled as he went over to help Matt up. Then he patted his friend on the shoulder and led him to the benches. “You did pretty good out there! Where’d you learn that grab move?”

“Oh, one of the rebel members I stayed with for a while taught it to me! But it worked a lot better for them since they had suction cups on their arms.” Matt was quick to start chatting as he and Shiro sat down and took the water pouches Hunk handed them.

Keith watched as a small little cleaning drone went on the sparing platform, scrubbing the floor good as new in a matter of moments before puttering off back to the panel it came from. Then he was looking over his shoulder and saying, “Lance, Lotor, you both are up.”

There was a choked sound and a glance at Lance showed he was a few shades paler. Clearly he was questioning Keith’s choice in the matter. Especially since he knew Lotor’s skill levels were far above that of his. There was no way Lance would even manage to last a full minute in the ring with the Prince!

“This is one of the matches I’m placing a handicap on, don’t worry. Lotor, since you have more experience in combat than Lance, you’ll be focusing only on evading attacks. Lance, you’re goal is to get Lotor out of the ring through any means necessary.” Keith smirked when he saw Lance sigh in relief.

“I have a question,” Lotor waited till Keith nodded at him before asking, “Am I to not lay a hand on Lance for the duration of the match?”

Keith thought about it for a moment before he said, “No. You can retaliate but you can’t go out of your way to attack him. So if Lance punches at you, you can do whatever to evade or rebuke the attack. But you can’t swing a punch back at him. This match is to check on how Lance handles a faster target and how well you avoid attacks.”

“Understood.”

“Sounds good!” Lance bounced on his feet a bit as if to psyche himself up before he stepped onto the dais.

However before Lotor could move to follow, Keith gave an annoyed “Hair, brat!” that had him pausing. The Prince huffed but said nothing. He turned to look at Keith and caught the hair tie tossed to him. Lotor nodded slightly in thanks before gathering his hair and tying it up into a high ponytail.

A cough behind him had Keith turning to look over his shoulder. He frowned slightly at how Allura glanced to the side with a slightly flushed face. She caught Keith’s eye and waved away the concern she could see being directed at her.

Alright…

Facing forward once again Keith could see Lance also had a slight blush on his face. Though since Lotor was stepping into the ring Keith assumed it was due to the anticipation of a fight.

“Alright Lance, you should be fine going against Lotor in terms of strength. So don’t worry too much about breaking any bones.”

“Oh gee, thanks!”

Hunk, ever the curious one about aliens, glanced at the Prince in confusion. “But isn’t Lotor half Galra and Altean? Shouldn’t he have a crazy combination of their physical strength?”

“Surprisingly, no.” Lotor flashed a smile and shook his head. “My Altean genes were mostly dominated by my Galra. Only my height and appearance hint at my Altean blood. However in terms of Galran strength I am considered on the… Ah weaker side.”

“Physically he’s about as strong as Shiro, maybe more. But compared to someone like Zethrid he can’t match up.” Keith crossed his arms over his chest, “However right now that isn’t important. It just means Lance won’t break a rib if Lotor knocks him down a few times. Now enough chatting, start already!”

And at Keith’s order the room went silent. Neither Lance nor Lotor moved. The former visibly hesitated, eyes darting around like he was trying to figure out a game-plan.

“Move, Lance! You know you have to think on your feet!”

Lance grimaced but by the shift in his expression it was apparent that he was taking Keith’s words to heart. He rushed Lotor, fists darting out for a series of quick jabs. Lotor evaded them one by one, taking a step back with every swing. Just when it seemed like Lance was going to herd Lotor towards the ring, the Prince suddenly struck.

Lotor dipped down to avoid Lance’s next swing and grabbed the front of his shit. Then he kicked out a foot and knocked Lance’s feet from under him. Lance’s back hit the platform with a wheeze, the metal beneath him having some give to it like a training mat.

“You were getting cocky, Lance.” Keith’s bland tone came from the side. “Don’t think you’ve won just because you were gaining ground. And Lotor, stop toying with him.”

“Apologies.” Lotor smiled down at Lance and helped him stand. Then the two shuffled back to where they started and were springing into action once again.

Bam. Bam. Bam.

One time after another Lance was being tossed down onto the ground. He was obviously growing frustrated from it all and that was making him get sloppy. Keith frowned, biting the corner of his lip as he tried to think of a way to encourage Lance. He knew the other could do it. He just needed a little push!

“Focus, Lance! You can do this!”

Lance breathed in sharply and tightened his fists. He brought them up near his face and narrowed his eyes determinedly. Keith was right. He could do this. It was just a simple spar! He couldn’t let all his training go to waste! Lance knew without a doubt that he couldn’t win this fight with his current skill level. Lotor was on a whole other bracket even with this handicap Keith gave him. So what could he do to try and win?

Suddenly struck with an idea, Lance bit the inside of his cheek and prayed it would work. Like before he rushed Lotor, aiming kicks and jabs that were deflected. The two danced in a circle, Lance making a somewhat sloppy punch when he was standing where Lotor had previously been. He felt Lotor grab his hand and then his foot come to swipe out Lance’s. Here it was! His moment to strike!

As he tipped backwards, Lance’s free hand came up and grabbed the front of Lotor’s clothes. The human twisted the hand in Lotor’s grip so that he could grab onto the Prince’s wrist. Then with a forceful pull he was yanking the other down with him. Lance’s back hit the ground and he shoved his knees up against Lotor’s gut. Then with a yell he pushed forward and flung the Prince up and over him. Lotor’s back slammed into the ground with a thud and in the next breath there was the loud sound of a buzzer.

Everyone stood frozen, their eyes wide and the air around them deathly quiet. Keith stood in shock for a moment, brain trying to comprehend what just happened. Then he was blinking past his surprise and grinning at the two laying on the raised dais. 

“Lotor, your foot caught the line. Lance, good job.”

“Holy shit!” Pidge’s exclamation was exactly what the group needed. There was an influx of cheering for Lance at managing to best the Galra Prince. Even Lotor’s generals were excited for the human.

Finally shaking off his stupor, Lotor sat up and glanced down to see that indeed his ankle was crossing the line. His surprised expression shifted to a delighted smile and he chuckled. Leaning his weight on a palm, Lotor twisted his body so he could look down at Lance. “It would seem you’ve bested me. Congratulations on your win, Lance.”

Lance gave an exaggerated exhale, his eyes squeezed shut as sweat ran down his brow. “Thanks man! Geez, you’re a really hard guy to pin down! I was near desperate with that last move!”

From the side Keith gave his approval, “It was a good choice to do. I’m guessing you noticed what I did?”

That finally got Lance to open his eyes. He jumped slightly from having Lotor’s face hovering above him. Flushed cheeks darkening, the human cleared his throat before glancing to Keith. “Maybe? I noticed that whenever Lotor would toss me to the ground, he tended to put a lot more strength into each throw. I figured I could use that against him and make him fall with me.”

From the clear surprise that lit up Lotor’s face it was obvious he hadn’t been aware he put more effort into throwing Lance down then necessary. He frowned thoughtfully, “I am used to my opponents being harder to pin down. So it seems I unconsciously overcompensated with Lance.” To the human he said, “You are quite sharp to notice that in such a short amount of time.”

Lance chuckled in embarrassment, flashing a pair of finger guns. “Well I gotta be sharp if I’m the resident sharpshooter.”

Keith had no time to deal with whatever awkward situation was going on between the two. So he gave them both a pointed look and said, “Get out of the ring before I make you **both** run laps.” Keith heard the two shuffling to comply as he turned around and pointed into the crowd of onlookers. “Ezor, Allura. You’re up.”

As Lotor and Lance returned to the benches to wipe off sweat and down some water, they received a round of hefty pats in team solidarity. Zethrid even leaned over to give a particularly hard pat to Lance and laugh at how hilarious it was to see Lotor knocked on his ass. Lance, while rubbing his aching shoulder, flushed in embarrassment.

“What shall you have us do for our sparring, Yorak?”

Keith observed the two women with a tilt of his head, “Haggar and her Druids are able to teleport around. This can be a problem when in the heat of battle. So Allura, I want you to practice sensing quintessence. If you’re able to pinpoint an enemy before they appear, than it should give you an edge in future battles. For that, we’re going to have you try and locate Ezor while she uses her camouflage abilities up till the moment of attack. I already know this will be a pretty one-sided battle but don’t let that get to you. This is meant to help you learn what you need work on, after all.”

Both women nodded before they squared up and began the fight. Exactly as Keith requested, Ezor disappeared from view with the use of her abilities. From there she would randomly appear at intervals to land a hit on Allura before disappearing again to avoid retaliation.

At fist Allura was clearly struggling to keep up with Ezor’s disappearing act. For the most part it was very much a one-sided battle like Keith predicted. Then Allura seemed to get a grasp on Ezor’s movements, managing to avoid a swipe before kicking out and hitting Ezor in the chest just as she appeared.

“You’re falling into a pattern, Ezor!” Keith yelled.

After that Ezor actively started to switch up when she’d attack just to keep Allura on her feet. The battle went on for a full two minutes before it finally drew to a close. In the end after a well-aimed hit Allura was knocked out of the ring.

Honestly speaking Keith didn’t expect Allura to win this match unless it was from a lucky shot. But that was the whole reason he paired Allura and Ezor up in the first place. It was for future training purposes.

“Win goes to Ezor. Next up Hunk and Acxa.”

They went on like this for a while. In the fight against Hunk and Acxa, the win went to Acxa after she managed to trip Hunk into the ring. Surprisingly he managed to last a while despite the fact Acxa was quicker than him.

Afterwards Keith set up Narti and Pidge. That ended in a draw, much to the shocked surprise of everyone. Pidge had once more attempted to use the move Keith taught her, though she fell short without the jetpack giving her a boost. But she didn’t let that stop her and instead used her momentum to swing her body around Narti’s and drag the two of them to the ground. Both hit the ring and so Keith, feeling generous, only had them both run 10 laps.

And then it was him and Zethrid facing off. From the feral grin she wore it was obvious that she’d been anticipating facing off against Keith. Zethrid wasted no time rushing Keith the moment the match started. Each of her swings was full of power and intent, Keith meeting them blow for blow. Each impact resounded with a loud crack that had the humans of the group hissing through their teeth.

There was a visible flinch from the group when Keith was slammed into the ground by one of Zethrid’s fists. He didn’t stay down for long and was springing up a moment later. Then he got close into Zethrid’s space before leaping up and catching her cheek in a twisting kick. She went down very much the same way Keith had. Only when she pulled herself up, it was into a crouch where she flashed her teeth at Keith and growled savagely. The action would’ve been taken as a hostile one if it wasn’t for the fact she was grinning.

Keith mimicked the action, a low growl rumbling in his throat as he flashed his own teeth. Then they were throwing themselves at each other again like the clashing of two tigers. It was only when Keith caught Zethrid’s leg from a kick that the battle was decided. He slammed his knee into her gut and when she doubled over he grabbed her by the shoulder and threw her to the side.

Zethrid’s hit the ground in a roll and grunted the moment she fell off the little dais. She laid there and groaned as the buzzer went off. “Uuugh guess that means I gotta run.”

Keith huffed, pushing the hair that slipped from his ponytail out of his face. “Seems like,” He waved a hand towards the observation deck and with a whir the platform began sinking. “Alright everyone! I hope you had fun. Because who you fought today is going to be your sparring partner for a while. You’re going to work with each other till I decide to shake up the roster.”

“Question,” Matt groaned from where he sat, “What about when I leave? The rebels are going to reassign me a new station since my previous one was compromised.”

“When that happens I’ll switch up the roster, like I said.”

“But for now!” Coran’s cheerful voice caught the attention of everyone as he entered the room. “I’ve got breakfast made so why don’t you all head to the showers and then we can see about getting Lotor and the others more clothes from the fabricator.”

With varying degrees of enthusiasm the teams split off to go take quick showers. Keith watched them chatter eagerly to one another and nodded his head in satisfaction. There was nothing like a little sparring to help build bonds between teams. Plus this way the group of them could learn where they lacked in fights and grow from there. In Keith’s honest opinion, it was a win-win all around.


	11. A Show of Arms

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Why do the Voltron coalition fight?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I return with a new chapter!! At first I was going to implement elements of this chapter way further into the story. But in the end I think here would be the best place for it. Thank you for your patience with me! I hope you're all still doing well and staying safe! Till next week~

“Thanks to the work of the Blades of Marmora and the rebels, more planets are being liberated from Galra control.” Shiro said to the group gathered in the castle ship’s bridge.

They all watched him give a run-down of their current status and what their next move would be as the castle generated a hologram model for reference. Lance, of course, seemed excited at the idea of more Voltron shows. And though he was quick to downplay his enthusiasm no one really believed it. 

“Pardon the interruption, but I feel that I need to ask. Would we be participating in Voltron’s Show of Arms?” Lotor spoke up from where he stood beside Keith. The Prince was dressed in a Galran tunic that had a high collar and a belt that wrapped around his waist. He’d chosen traditional Galran clothes for the fabricator to make since it was what he was used to. His generals also had the fabricator make casual clothes they would find comfort in wearing.

Coran flashed him a grin and raised a brow in amusement. “Well of course! It’s the Show of Arms for _Voltron_! And you all are a part of Voltron!”

“Plus,” Allura added with a smile, “It would give you and your generals a chance to show the coalition that you truly are our allies.”

Ezor sat up from where she’d been lounging in one of the empty Paladin chairs. “Ooook? But what would we even do? You guys are already Voltron. Do we pretend to be the bad Galra’s you fight? That doesn’t sound like much fun.”

The orange-haired Altean gave a dismissive wave before twiddling the end of his mustache. “Never mind that. I’ll have scripts and roles written for everyone by our next show! And I knew just where to start!”

Coran’s confident-filled words should’ve been reassuring to everyone. And maybe to those who didn’t know Coran well, it could have been. But they were no stranger to the man’s antics and so a collective wave of apprehension passed through the gathered coalition members.

///

“You’re ridiculous.” 

“Oh hush, you’re being dramatic.” Coran said as he pushed Keith towards the storage room door they were in. 

“This script isn’t even accurate!” 

Coran visibly rolled his eyes and placed his hands on his hips. “Well, this is the _Legend_ of Voltron, not the documentary of Voltron.”

“Am I really meant to shout this out?” Lotor glanced up from his script with a look of confusion on his face. “Won’t it be rather redundant?”

“Especially since this isn’t what really happened.” Ezor added with a snort.

Huffing in mounting annoyance, Coran waved his hands dismissively. “So the details are stretched! It’s fine. A little flair can really get the crowd going!” He then clapped his hands and said, “Come on! Everyone in positions! Just follow the script.”

Keith smirked and gave a parting wave to them, “Bye everyone. I can’t wait to see the show.”

“Hey!” Pidge sent a glare towards Keith, “How come he doesn’t get a role?”

“Because this is a smaller production. Don’t worry, Keith will have a role next time.” And with that Coran nodded and opened the door, shoving Keith out and following after.

Heaving a heavy sigh, Shiro smiled crookedly before looking at his team. “Alright come on guys. Let’s just follow along with Coran’s script. He put a lot of work into it, after all.”

There wasn’t much they could say against that. So they all groaned their agreement and shuffled into place to await the start of the show. It began like usual with Coran making the announcements. However now with the addition of Lotor and his generals, the ‘ _plot_ ’ for their little play had changed.

“Ladies and gentle-aliens, bear witness as the Paladins of Voltron rescue Prince Lotor and his generals from the clutches of Zarkon!” And with a flourish Coran swung his hands towards where Lotor was standing with his generals behind him.

The spotlight landed on the Prince and the measly crowd of aliens watching all collectively gasped. He blinked past the sting of light and cleared his throat. Lotor, perfectionist that he was, had read through the script and memorized his meager lines in the short span of time they’d been given. And, with as much enthusiasm as he could, he threw his all into repeating them.

“I am Prince Lotor, son of Zarkon! The tyrannical Zarkon, who I am the son of, has us trapped within his base!”

Behind him Acxa scowled at her wrist screen and recited monotonously, “However will we escape?”

There was a moment of silence before Narti nudged Zethrid, causing the larger half-breed to jump. She quickly snapped to attention and looked down at her own script. “Er look! There is a… Ship! In the sky!”

The way Shiro shuffled into the spotlight was, to put it bluntly, awkward. He clearly wasn’t thrilled about the hacky script. Shiro never had been the greatest thespian. So his reciting of the lines was just as stilted as Zethrid’s.

“Fear not, Prince Lotor. I, Shiro, Paladin of the Black Lion will do what I can to rescue you and your generals from Zarkon.”

“You won’t have to do it alone,” Hunk said as he came on stage to stand beside Shiro. “Because you’ll have me, Hunk.”

Pidge was clearly reluctant to move but a push from Lance had her practically dragging her feet on stage. “And me, Pidge.”

Lance sprung out onto stage with nearly as much enthusiasm as Coran. He flashed a grin at the crowd and puffed his chest out confidently. “And me, Lance!” He then shuffled from the front of the stage to stand with the rest of Voltron. 

The last to hobble up was Allura, the Princess wearing a semi-strained smile as she tried to keep some of the enthusiasm Lance had been exuding all over the stage. “And me, Princess Allura.”

They turned to look at Shiro, the human frowning down at his screen. “Thank you, team, for always being by my side, through thick or thin. I know with our mighty strengths combined, we can save Prince Lotor from his father’s clutches.”

Together Lotor and his generals all turned to the Voltron Paladin’s and said in unison “ _Yaaay, our heroes_.” Though afterwards Acxa had to quickly slap a hand over Ezor’s mouth just to prevent her from belting out a laugh. Clearly from the pinkish tears forming in her eyes Ezor had been wanting to laugh for quite a while. Then together the group of them all struck a pose that was meant to be valiant and portray power. Though really it just made them look like clueless fish trying to stand on land.

Then the lights turned on and revealed that the rows of seats were empty. All but the one seat in the center front that housed Keith. He looked to be in physical pain from holding his breath to keep in the laughs threatening to spill out. His faced was flushed a dark blue and he was gripping the arms of his chair tightly.

“You did well,” He squeaked, snorting slightly. And then like a dam bursting that one splutter was all it took. Keith doubled over, cackling and snorting breathlessly. He clutched his stomach, wheezing about not being able to breath.

The group all slumped out of their final poses, Hunk the first to walk off the stage. “Well that bombed.”

Lance pouted, “Yeah, speaking of bombs, we need to get back to doing air shows with explosions and lasers… And bombs! We’ll just need to figure out how to add in Acxa, Ezor, Narti, Zethrid, and Lotor to the shows. Oh and Keith!” He paused, glancing to the Altean who was still hunched over in his seat. He wasn’t making sounds anymore but the shaking of his shoulders indicated he was still laughing. Hopefully he’d breathe sometime soon. Did Alteans pass out from lack of air? “And Keith too. If he doesn’t die.” Lance tacked on almost offhandedly.

“I thought it was… Unique?” Lotor offered Coran a small pat as he followed the others off-stage. 

“Unique is a way to put it! Oooh! You think next play I can get more lines? Or what about if we make Lotor even more of a damsel? Have one of the Paladin’s carry him off-stage like an unconscious maiden.” Ezor giggled with a skip in her step.

“That would be humiliating. I refuse.”

“I think it could be dramatic.”

“If you’re so keen on seeing me reduced to a prop, why not offer up yourself first?”

Their chatter died away as the group migrated out of the room, leaving only Coran and a still prone Keith. Coran sighed, his shoulders slumping as he looked down at his boots in disappointment. “I was hoping to expand our horizons… Guess it backfired instead.”

Just as he made a move to go and drag Keith out of his chair, a voice drifted over from behind one of the tech pillars. “Hey, there, friend. You look like you could use a little help.” Came a familiar sleazy-sounding voice.

Coran glanced over and saw an Unilu in a medic-chair glide out from behind the pillar. The orange-haired Altean blinked in surprise, “I know you. You ran the Unilu swap shop in the mall.”

The Unilu waved a hand dismissively, “My granddaughter is watching the shop for me while I recover from a little… Business mishap. Anyways, I saw that space wreck of a show you put on.”

That reminded Coran of his failed play and once more renewed his disappointment. His gaze dropped and he sighed, “I don’t know what I was thinking…”

With a wide grin the Unilu quickly exclaimed, “Then stop thinking and be conscious-neezy! Concious-neezy mind enhancers!” He opened a little section of his chair and held up the tiny teal ball to Coran. “Pop one of these babies under your pillow at night, and when you wake up in the morning, your brain will be filled with brilliant thoughts and ideas. They seep while you sleep! The price is 12,000 GAC.” 

Coran, who had been mindlessly reaching for the little sphere, instantly stopped at the price. He frowned, crossing his arms over his chest momentarily before readying to barter. However before Coran could even say a thing his vision of the Unilu was suddenly cut-off by Keith’s back.

The other Altean had gotten ahold of himself and had been listening to the exchange silently. And he decided he heard enough just before the bargaining could begin. He sent a glare to the Unilu, the alien’s grin wavering slightly. 

Keith took Coran by the arm and said, “Thanks, but no.” He then began pulling Coran with him towards the door the others had left through.

“Ah—Wait! Keith! Hold on a minute!”

“ _No, no holding on. We need to get going if we’re going to make it in time for Clear Day. Besides, I don’t trust anything he sells. Remember when we were getting the Teleduv lenses and he called them table toppers? He clearly lies about his products._ ”

“ _Well yes but—._ ”

“ _Just move on, Coran. Your ideas are enough. They only need some work._ ”

Coran reluctantly followed, only glancing back once at the Unilu. “ _Alright… But what do you mean ‘make it in time for Clear Day’? We have plenty of time!_ ”

Keith snorted, “ _They’re in a different galaxy, Coran. You always want to arrive early just in case._ ”

And turns out Keith had been right. He knew Coran could get time-frames wrong. Prior experience showed this to be the case. So Keith took some precautions in case such a thing occurred once again. However because there wasn’t enough time to create a new script or set for the air show, Shiro decided they’d just repeat one of the many air shows they practiced for. 

Voltron would be the main event for Clear Day. In the time being they’d all get to explore the booths and participate in any of the games that caught their eye. While everyone went out to play, Keith sat with Coran at a little section designated for people to rest and eat. There the two spread out several different data-pads and began to work on writing a script. 

“ _We can’t exactly use Galra fighters without scaring the audience. Plus where’d we even get ahold of any? Lotor’s ship was taken, remember? And I don’t think the Galra Empire are willing to loan some of their fighters to us_.”

Coran pursed his lips and crossed something off on the screen. “ _Alright. But how else are we going to implement Lotor and the others into the show? We can’t just keep them out of it when we’re trying to spread the message they’re our allies_.”

Keith had to admit the other had a point. He tapped a finger against the table for a moment before reaching for his purple-tinted drink and sipping at it. “ _What if… We get some new ships from the Olkari?_ ”

“ _Hm?_ ”

“ _Well what if we add to the air show by giving Lotor, Narti, Zethrid, Acxa, and Ezor their own ships? Five ships to compliment the five Lions?_ ”

Coran’s eyes widened and he gasped, smacking the table in excitement. “ _And to emphasize that they’re a part of the coalition, we could make them all Altean-made! Or well Olkari-made. Just using Altean schematics._ ”

“ _Yeah!_ ” 

The two hunched over a shared data-pad, quickly swapping ideas and jotting down little notes. Altean creations were predominantly white and blue in their plating with only a few different colours as accents. Keith felt that adding bits of purple to tie into the group’s Galra heritage would be a nice touch. And maybe they could add a personal flare to the ships. A symbol that would tie them together just like the Lions of Voltron were. 

At the mention of a symbol Coran grinned, nudging Keith and giving him a pointed look. “ _Well Lotor already has a symbol for his team, right? Be a shame to get rid of it._ ”

It took a moment for Keith to understand his meaning. Then his eyes widened and he easily shared Coran’s scheming smile. “ _That’s perfect. Think the castle ship has any schematics for Altean fighters?_ ”

“ _It should. If not we can take whatever we have on hand and make adjustments._ ”

Keith nodded, turning his attention back to their data-pads. “ _Got it. When we’re done I’ll take the schematics to Ryner and let her know what we need. Hopefully they can get it done relatively easily._ _Keep it a secret for now what we have planned. I want to surprise them all after we have the ships made._ ”

“ _Can do! Now, onto the actual pain in my glutes. Script writing._ ”

With a chuckle Keith finished off his drink and set the empty cup off to the side. “ _It isn’t_ _ **bad**_ _, only a little off its mark. I know you’re good at telling stories. It’s just for something like this, you have to write scripts that are believable. Shiro is our leader, yes. But he doesn’t spend every line of breath talking about the strength of Voltron and how together as a team friendship will take us over any hurdle! That’s just not the kind of guy he is._ ”

Coran groaned and slumped in his seat, “ _Yes I know. And I know Lotor is a very capable fighter. But how can we convey Voltron’s might if we don’t show it?_ ”

“ _Well that’s the thing. The script was all telling, not showing. Speaking won’t always work in getting the message across. I get what you’re going for though._ ” 

Keith leaned back in his chair and hummed. He let his eyes drift along the excited crowd, the merriment palpable in the air around him. He could see Zethrid throwing sharpened darts at a board, popping the gel bubbles and winning a large plush that she proudly handed to a giggling Ezor. He then glanced over to one of the many rides, Hunk and Narti going on for their fourth time as the cheerful singing ride seemed to be a favourite of theirs.

Further along Lance and Pidge were duking it out in what seemed to be a singing competition, Allura and Lotor content to watch and cheer them on. And way in the distance Keith could see what appeared to be Acxa and Shiro perusing the many booths lined up. 

Keith contemplated his team and the visible joy they showed basking in each other’s company. How despite them starting off on the wrong foot, more or less, they still made an effort to work together to find Keith and bring him home. And after that they continued to grow and form a bond between each other. Now they were all friends fighting for the same cause.

“ _I think,_ ” Keith spoke after his lengthy moment of silence, “ _That while a little flare is fun, we don’t really need a script that tells the audience we’re a team. Instead just let them show it. We’ve seen that acting isn’t many of their strong suits. Maybe Lance and Lotor can pull off the theatrics, but everyone else acts like they’re choking on a Glmorian Spix._ ”

Coran visibly snorted at the analogy, “ _I won’t deny that. But it’d be a shame to get rid of our little skits._ ”

“ _Well… Maybe we won’t have to?_ ” Coran sent Keith an intrigued look, gesturing for him to continue. Keith hummed, glancing at the data-pad. “ _Well right now the skits are basically dialogue. What if we add more action? And a message? Everyone knows Voltron fights for the universe’s freedom, but that’s Voltron as a collective. What about the faces behind Voltron? The coalition? Why do they fight?_ ”

Slowly Coran nodded, his eyes twinkling as he began pulling on his mustache. “ _I see what you mean… Well what if we did this?_ ” He asked before writing something down on the screen.

“ _Hmm that could work. But what if instead we add this? I can play this part. And maybe at the end we can do this._ ”

“ _Oooh! What if we dress you up as Zarkon? Then that’d really drive home the message!!_ ”

“ _Maybe. Let’s see how the first event goes then we can plan from there._ ”

The two went back and forth like this for a while till it finally came time for the air show. Coran went off to announce Voltron while Keith and the others found their own spots to settle in and watch the show. It went off without a hitch and by the end of Clear Day everyone was returning to the burrows satisfied. 

The moment they were back on the castle ship Coran and Keith dipped out to sift through the ship’s database, tossing schematics at each other back and forth with a single-minded focus. Not even Shiro knocking on the door and asking if they were fine pulled their attention away from their tasks. Instead Coran gave an absentminded ‘yes’ while Keith, waist-deep in a container, yelled for Coran to help him find the data-pad he was looking for. 

So with concern painting his face, Shiro slipped away and let them get back to whatever it was they were doing. It wasn’t till later after hours of searching did they finally find a set of schematics that’d work. Of course some of it could use some alterations and maybe updates, but overall Keith was satisfied. He did feel it pertinent to inform the team though before he left. So when they all sat down for dinner Keith cleared his throat to get the team’s attention.

“Everyone. Coran and I have been working on how to expand the coalition’s message. While air shows are working, there’s still more we can do. So I’ll be stopping by the Olkari to have them work on something for our air shows.”

“Oh?” Shiro smiled curiously, “Is it whatever you and Coran were trying to find?”

“Yep. But as to what it is, you’ll have to wait and find out.” Keith flashed him a grin before adding, “Also we worked on the script. Keep in mind it’s not a solid idea yet. However we want to give it a test-run at our next showing. Not everyone will have dialogue though. Also, till we start rehearsals I want you all to think long and hard about this question: What do you fight for.”

Allura frowned softly and shared a confused glance with the others. “What we fight for?”

With a nod Coran twiddled the end of his mustache. “Indeed. What does the Voltron coalition mean for you? Why are you in this fight? Why does it matter to you?”

“Ok… But what do we do after we have our answers?” Pidge asked.

Keith smiled slightly, “Don’t worry, you’ll see during rehearsals.”

Dinner ended not long after that and Keith bid his team farewell before he headed off to Olkari in White. Shiro, knowing Keith wouldn’t be at their spot tonight, didn’t bother to leave his room after he showered and prepared for bed. Though imagine his surprise when his communicator began beeping away just before Shiro hit the lights.

He frowned slightly and reached over, picking the device up. When he answered the call Keith appeared on-screen, the structures of Olkari in the background and bathed in the orange glow of sun-set. He flashed Shiro a crooked smile that Shiro returned with a softer one of his own.

“Hey,” He said a little breathlessly. Keith hadn’t even been gone for long but Shiro was already missing the Altean.

“ _Hey yourself. I figured I’d call to let you know I’m staying on Olkari to finalize the plans. After I give Ryner the ok then I’ll be coming back. It shouldn’t be too long though. The Olkari work pretty fast when it comes to drawing up schematics. Already we’ve got something good worked out so far._ ”

“That’s amazing,” Shiro said with genuine enthusiasm. He turned off his room light, plunging it into darkness save for the glow coming off the communicator. Then he shuffled to his bed, clicking a little button near the head that turned on a light built in just above his bed. Shiro laid down, getting comfortable as he talked to Keith. “So what is it you’re having Ryner make? I know you said it was a surprise but I’m curious.”

Keith chewed on his bottom lip as he internally debated whether or not he wanted to tell Shiro. Keith never could lie to the other, but he also didn’t want to spoil the surprise for Lotor and his generals. But he **did** trust Shiro not to spill any secrets. Though just to be sure…

“ _Promise you won’t say anything about it?_ ”

“I promise.”

“ _Alright,_ ” Keith cracked a small conspiratorial grin, “ _Me and Coran figured out how to make Lotor and the others a part of the air show. We’re going to be giving them Altean fighters of their own._ ”

Shiro was surprised for a moment before a large grin spread out across his face. “That’s a perfect idea! I can see why you want to keep it a secret. Any idea when they should be done?”

“ _Well Ryner and her team are trying to alter the schematics to fit what I’m looking for. Altean fighters are meant to be sleek and fast already, but I want to add some things to a few of them. However once that’s done I’ll leave it to the Olkari to make the ships. Ryner gave me an estimation and said that maybe by the end of our next show the ships should be done._ ”

“Wow. That is fast.” Trust the Olkari to get tech made at lighting speed. Then again they were the ones who literally made entire machines fall out of a plant, so really Shiro shouldn’t be surprised.

“ _Yep…_ ” Keith trailed off, glancing at something off-screen before looking back to Shiro. “ _So, have you thought about the question yet?_ ”

Shiro found himself frowning and rolled onto his back. His communicator was left at his side so Keith ended up facing the ceiling. “No? Yes? I mean… I never really thought about _why_ I fight. It’s just… The right thing to do.”

“ _While that’s not a bad thing, you can still expand on it._ ”

“I know. But I can’t think of how.”

“ _Mmmm…_ ” Keith pursed his lips in thought, “ _I’m sure you’ll think of something. If not, maybe listening to why everyone else fights can help you think of something?_ ”

It wasn’t a bad idea. Shiro said as much after he picked up the communicator to see Keith. The Altean smiled and nodded before switching to a different topic. And just like that the two talked till Shiro fell asleep, Keith watching Shiro’s eyes finally close with a tender smile making him look all too soft. 

Keith chuckled, his chest aching from the overwhelming fondness he was feeling. “ _Goodnight, Shiro_.” He whispered softly before ending the call.

///

The crowd walking past paid no attention to the curtained stage. Only a few paused to glance its way before shrugging and moving on. However when something parted the curtains and stepped out, several pairs of eyes turned to look.

Keith was dressed in a semi-decent costume of the laser Robeast they had fought on the Balmera all that time ago. He had shifted his height so he’d be more intimidating towering over some of the crowd. The Altean stomped purposefully into the center of the stage and sweeped his wide, expansive sleeves that were meant to mimic the arms of the Robeast. 

Beneath the helmet Keith flared his quintessence, his marks glowing and the light making the eyes of his helmet illuminate. Then he subtly pressed a button held in his hand that activated the light on his suit’s chest piece. It hummed to life and the green light began to glow ominously. That caused a few more people to pause and watch in interest, a young child even gasping.

Off to the side hidden behind a wall stood Coran. He glanced at the slowly growing crowd and grinned. Good, they were getting some attention. Thank the stars for that. Now onto the actual part of the show. 

He cleared his throat and called out, “Oh, no! A laser-eyed monster! We need the Voltron coalition!”

Suddenly leaping onto stage one by one was Lotor and his generals. They stood in formation before Keith, battle stances at the ready. 

“Stand down, monster!” Lotor shouted, his sword directed at Keith. “We will not let you terrorize anymore innocents!”

Keith, expression obscured by his helmet, merely tilted his head as if to study the prince. Then he spread out his arms and said in a robotic voice, “ _Come at me if you dare._ ”

The five rushed at Keith, Lotor actually swinging his sword with jabs aimed to damage. This caught the crowd’s interest. A fight was always exciting to see no matter the species. To the untrained eye it looked like Lotor was actively trying to cut down Keith. Yet the two of them were merely going through the motions of what they had rehearsed. 

When Acxa came at Keith to throw in a kick, he took her by the leg and swung her into Zethrid just like they’d practiced. The two dramatically hit the ground, pretending to collapse and be incapacitated. Keith then rounded on Ezor and “took her out” before doing the same to Narti. When only Lotor and Keith were left, the two began circling each other.

By this point a noticeable crowd had begun forming. Many were watching with rapt attention, even going so far as to excitedly cheer for the Galran Prince to win. 

Keith’s weighted boots made heavy thuds as he trailed along the stage. The eerie glow to his mask and chest painted him in a sinister light, especially when he pressed the button again and the chest light flashed red.

“ _Who are you? Why are you here?_ ” Keith asked as he dove in to strike Lotor. 

The Prince spun around in a dodge, bringing up his sword to block another attack from Keith. Beneath the sleeves the Altean was wearing vambraces so when his wrists hit the blade the friction caused sparks to scatter even through the fabric. This encouraged a stir of excitement to pass through the crowd from the thrilling display.

Lotor forced Keith back and stood in front of his downed comrades. He then raised his chin high and said, “I am Prince Lotor and I am here to stop you in the name of the Voltron coalition.”

His admittance had a collective gasp of shock passing through the crowd. Coran, expecting this kind of reaction, loudly proclaimed, “What’s this?! The Galran Prince is fighting against one of Zarkon’s monsters! What could this mean?”

“ _So you’re the Prince of the Galra? Would you really go against your father?_ ” Keith asked as if Coran wasn’t narrating. 

“Yes, I may the Galran Prince, but Zarkon is not my father. He is a monster like you. And as I stand here today I vow to put an end to you and his tyranny!!” Lotor shouted while pointing his sword at Keith.

The Altean tossed his head back and laughed, the robotic cackle sending chills down the audiences’ spines. While they were shocked by Lotor being the Galran Prince they were even more surprised to hear him make such a vow. And that only fueled their cheers for him. If even Zarkon’s own offspring joined the fight against him, then surely Lotor shouldn’t be all bad. This thought passed through the crowd and spread around till more and more bystanders were pulled over by the commotion.

Together both Keith and Lotor weaved through a series of moves. They swung and dodged, rolled and struck. Keith would throw Lotor to the ground only for the Prince to make a show of struggling to stand. Every time Keith would watch him, mask eyes glowing menacingly.

“ _Why do you continue to fight, Prince? It would be easier to give in. Let Zarkon win._ ”

“Never.” Lotor spat as he stood once again. “He will never win so long as we are here! I fight because of him! I fight so that no one else must suffer at his hands like I have!”

“ _Foolish. You cannot defeat me alone._ ” Keith said before knocking Lotor’s hand up during the Prince’s lunge. The sword was flung from his grasp and flew, clattering a distance away. The growing crowd all gasped in horror, one even shouting a ‘no!’ as Keith kicked Lotor in the stomach and knocked the Prince to the ground.

Acxa, from where she lay, pulled herself up. Though her voice was still a monotone she managed to add a little rasp to it to make it sound like she was hurt. “Prince Lotor, we can’t fight him alone. We need Voltron!”

And just like that the Paladins of Voltron joined them on stage one-by one. They fought Keith individually at first. He’d make a show of beating them before asking them what he asked Lotor. What do you fight for.

Each answer to the question was different though just as impactful. It was said with such emotion and conviction that the crowd became overcome with emotion. And the reason it was so moving was because each one was said in truth. These were his Paladin’s honest thoughts on why they fought in this war.

For Hunk, it was to fight for those who couldn’t fight for themselves. 

For Pidge, she fought for her family.

For Lance, it was so he’d have a home to return to.

For Allura, she fought so that no more people had to die.

And finally the last to answer was Shiro. At this point everyone other than him was laying on the ground pretending to be injured. Shiro stood tall before his team, the crowd deathly silent to grasp onto every word he said. 

Earlier in rehearsals Keith had made it a point to place Shiro in a way that he wouldn’t have to face the crowd. Instead he could just look at Keith and recite his lines the same way they practiced in the same tone. 

Keith gave a subtle nod and Shiro inhaled deeply for a moment before saying, “Team! We can’t fight him by ourselves. We have to do this together! It’s the only way we’re going to win against Zarkon!"

“Yeah!” Their little group shouted, pulling themselves up to stand. The crowd exploded in cheers of support, a few shouting that they could do this! They could win!

Then they all came at Keith like a well-oiled machine. They’d gone through this in rehearsals before. They were to attack Keith in groups and he’d pretend to take the hits. Then Shiro would be the one to make the “final blow”.

Keith hit the ground, laying on his back and staring up at Shiro. Around him stood their group, a wide gap left so that the audience could fully see Keith and Shiro. The Black Paladin stood over Keith’s prone figure, not even needing to pretend to be winded as their little spar had worked up a sweat for everyone.

Then Keith’s voice came out like a whisper though with the mask it was amplified so everyone could hear it. He asked Shiro ever so softly, “ _What do you fight for_?”

Shiro raised his chin and said loudly, “I fight to protect those important to me.”

“ _I see…_ ” Keith huffed a small laugh before his head slumped to the side and the lights on his suit dimmed out. 

The crowd seemed to be holding their breath for a moment before a deafening cacophony of cheers erupted. They were clearly enjoying the show and the fighting sequences. A bunch even got as close to the stage as they could just to get a better view. 

Coran took this as his chance to step out on stage and address the crowd. “You have heard why we fight, but what about you? Spread the word, the coalition needs you! Only together can we unite and defeat Zarkon!”

“I want to join the coalition!”

“I wanna to fight to protect my important people too!”

“Yes! Let’s unite!”

The crowd was mighty enthusiastic about joining after watching the display. While the Voltron members dealt with that, Keith dragged himself off stage to ditch the outfit and shower. He’d sweated like crazy in this thing and being pummeled around by ten people, even in a spar, wasn’t easy. 

He groaned, collapsing into one of the lounge couches and nursing a bottle of nunvill. No one could harp on him for drinking an entire bottle by himself. He fucking deserved it, ok?

Keith took a large swig of the drink before he noticed his communicator beeping. He picked it up and checked over his messages, almost choking on the mouthful he had before swallowing the sweet ambrosia and coughing. He tucked the communicator away and chugged the rest of his drink before setting it down and rushing out of the room.

Keith skidded to a stop just as he saw his group of friends walking down the hall. Lance was the first to notice him, exclaiming, “Ah! There’s our missing Robeast! Where’d you go man? People wanted your autograph!”

Keith managed to push away his excitement long enough to roll his eyes. “I don’t do well with crowds. Anyways, forget that for a moment. Allura, could you pilot the ship to Olkari?”

Coran gasped and rushed over to Keith’s side in excitement. “Has Ryner finished them?”

“Yep,” He said with a grin and flashed Coran his communicator. “They’re ready for pick-up at any time.”

“Well what are we waiting for?!” Coran threw his hands up and began marching towards the ship’s bridge. He gave them no choice but to follow even after Pidge groaned about wanting to shower. Though her whining only seemed to be for show as she too looked excited for whatever it was Keith and Coran had planned.

The trip to Olkari was relatively quick given the fact they had the use of wormholes. Once they landed and everyone filed out, Ryner met up with them to lead them to a large ship hangar. Keith and Coran stopped her just before they entered so they could express their thanks and then address their little group.

“Alright Paladins, so as we said the air shows are great! But we wanted Lotor and his generals to participate as well.” Coran hummed with his hands behind his pack.

“However without ships of their own, that’d be impossible. So…” Keith trailed off and grinned when he saw the understanding spread across his team’s faces.

“Oh my gosh, you didn’t!” Ezor gave an excited gasp, bouncing where she stood.

“Indeed we did!” Coran gave a nod to Ryner and she proceeded to open the doors. The moment the five ships were revealed to the group, they all collectively gasps in various states of awe.

Allura raised a hand as if to cover her mouth, her eyes watering slightly. “Oh Coran, Yorak…”

“They’re beautiful…” Lotor stepped forward like he wanted to get a better look at the ships.

They were sleek and compact, built for speed and flexibility. Only one seemed bulkier than the rest, that one sitting at the end of the line and equipped with a large cannon on the back. The markings along the ship’s sides were a stunning violet that, when the ships were on, would glow. It wasn’t the only sign of colour to break up the ship’s white plating. Stamped on their sides just below the purple streaks were a simplified symbol that resembled Kova. Even the colours picked for each bold line were made with the alien cat’s colours in mind. And in the same violet colour as the streaks along the ship were distinct numbers printed on each ship’s wing. 

Keith grinned, turning around and gesturing to the ships behind him. “Team, I’d like to introduce you to the Avok Fighters.” 


	12. Taking Naxzela

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Voltron begins chipping away at Zarkon's control and, thanks to a stray comment from Pidge, Lotor might have a better idea on her father's location.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: As the chapter name implies, here we are at the Naxzela arc. I may or may not have rushed the battle but eh. Spaceship combat isn't my strong suit. Hopefully next chapter makes up for it~ And the ending of this chapter very well implies what is to come! I'm excited for chapter 13 and I hope you all are as well. Till next chapter! Please stay safe~

“ _This is Avok 1 informing Voltron that we are now in position. Ready for your command to fill in as back-up should our aid be needed._ ”

“Good. And White?”

“ _On standby. Just give me the signal and I’ll send them where they need to go._ ”

Allura nodded, turning to look at Shiro. “Everyone is in position. We’re ready.” 

This was it. They were going to fight to take Naxzela and knock down some of the Galra Empire’s control. All they needed was for this plan to work. While everyone was preparing to do their part, Lotor’s squad was on standby in an asteroid field for the time being. They were Voltron’s trump card as the Galra Empire was unaware of their existence.

On the asteroid with them was White, though its pilot was not there. Instead Keith was joining the Blades for their part in this plan. When the Avok Fighters needed to be sent out he would remotely open a wormhole and send them through.

Keith turned off his communicator and looked up as Antok stopped in front of him. The large Galra’s tail twitched and he reached a hand out to ruffle Keith’s hair. Keith bit back a complaint at the rough treatment. He just braided his hair! They didn’t have time for him to fix it if his uncle messed it up.

“ _Stay close, Kit_.”

“Of course,” Keith quirked a small smirk and activated his mask when Antok’s hand fell away. “ _How else are you going to see my skill_?”

Antok paused before he huffed a laugh and cuffed Keith on the back of the head. “ _Brat. Save your posturing for your Paladin._ ”

“ _What?_ ” Keith nearly sputtered in bewilderment, “ _What does that mean? Uncle?_ ”

But his question went unanswered as the taller Galra was already walking back to stand by Kolivan’s side. Antok chuckled at Keith’s borderline petulant demand for Antok to explain himself. He turned to face Kolivan after feeling his mate’s eyes on him even with their faces covered.

“ _Do not tease the boy so much._ ”

“ _It is my duty as his uncle. Besides, Krolia will be much the same when she returns._ ”

Kolivan sighed at that, crossing his arms over his chest and turning to look at Keith. “ _Perhaps… Maybe after this it would be time to pull her from her station. The risks of being undercover will increase exponentially, after all._ ”

Antok hummed in agreement and placed a hand to his mate’s shoulder. “ _Let us discuss this after the battle._ ”

With a nod Kolivan and Antok along with the rest of the Blades prepared to be dropped onto the planet. In only a few doboshes they were running through the jungle en route to their Zaiforge cannon. It was as they were closing in that the panicked call from Olia came in. 

Keith skidded to a stop, his fellow Blades rushing past him to continue the mission. They knew Keith would catch up so there was no point in them waiting for him. 

“ _Copy, Olia. Avok Fighters, I’m preparing the wormhole now._ ”

“ _Copy that. Olia, please hold out a little longer. We’ll be there shortly._ ”

“ _Just hurry!_ ”

Closing his eyes Keith activated the White Lion, his quintessence flaring and illuminating the mechanical beast. It stood and turned to view Lotor’s squad, the five ships at the ready. The massive head nodded before Keith turned it back around and belted out a roar. Instantly a white wormhole appeared and the Avok Fighters were darting in one by one, disappearing in a flash of light.

With that finished Keith opened his eyes and let go of his connection to White. He then began sprinting the way the other Blades had gone. As he made it onto the Galran structure he leapt over the remains of sentries. Clearly work of the Blades. Pulling out his own sword, Keith followed the remnants left behind to locate his squad.

By the time Keith got inside the Blades were just finishing off the last of the soldiers. They tensed in preparation for battle as the doors opened though instantly relaxed when they saw who it was. 

Antok flicked off the purple blood coating his blade before sheathing it and chuckling, “ _You missed the fun, Kit._ ”

Keith barely fought the urge to roll his eyes. Instead he made his way to the front so he could grab the Zaiforge cannon. “ _Then I get to mess with the big gun._ ”

Back with the Avok Fighters, Lotor and his team emerged right at the edge of where the battle was going on. They streamed out like a swarm of wasps, the blue of their lasers a stark contrast to the reds and oranges flying past. 

Lotor in Avok 1 twisted in a spin, firing down two Galra fighters before activating his coms. “ _Olia, we’re here!_ ”

“ _Good! We can’t take down the Zaiforge cannon while the ship’s shield is up!_ ”

“ _Understood. Let us see if our weapons can put a dent into their defenses_.” Saying this his small fleet of five wove their way through the laser fire to round on the battle cruiser. The Zaiforge cannon was charging up for another attack just as the group of them began firing.

The shield crackled to life but continued to hold strong despite the strength of Altean fighters. The group of them were quick to scramble as the Zaiforge fired, eliminating chunks of floating rock and some of their own Galra fighters as well.

“ _Damn, that thing is strong_!” Zethrid cursed as her bulky ship fired a barrage of blasts at the shield just out of spite.

“ _Not even our fire is going to leave a dent. Sir, what do you suggest_?” Acxa asked just as her face appeared on Lotor’s screen.

He frowned, dodging a few fighters while he watched the Zaiforge prepare to fire once more. “The other Zaiforge might be able to destroy the shield. Yorak, how soon are you able to fire?”

“ _Just as soon as I find the cruiser!_ ”

Olia cursed over the line, her own ship barely avoiding a few fighter blasts. “ _We might not be able to keep dodging this fire for long!_ ”

“Leave it to us. We will provide you cover while you take shelter. If their attention is split, it will grant you a momentary reprieve. Zethrid, charge up your cannon and prepare to fire at the battle cruiser. Ezor, Narti, defend her till her cannon is ready.” Came Lotor’s order along with a stream of laser fire.

Zethrid grunted, “ _Are you sure? I’m going to be prone after I fire._ ”

“ _Don’t worry, we’ve got your back!_ ” Ezor chirped over their communicator. There was a meow from Narti’s line, Kova being the one to answer for her.

After getting their ships they’d frequently run drills with Voltron just to get a better grasp on how they handle. Which, given the circumstances, was the best decision they could’ve made. It was from these drills that they learned the Avok Fighters, while all meant for speed, had something added that set them apart from each other.

For Avok 5, Zethrid’s ship, she was equipped with a lot more fire power. And built on the back of the ship was a large cannon which, after fired, would leave the ship without power for a few doboshes. However despite these few precious minutes, the strength from the cannon was well worth it. Perhaps with it they wouldn’t even need the help from Keith’s Zaiforge. 

“ _Cannon at 15%... 21%... 30%_.” Zethrid began narrating as her cannon slowly gathered its powers. 

They could see the purple streaks on the ship flare brighter and seemed to flow directly towards the cannon. The dormant lines along it lit up in the same purple light, the maw of the cannon beginning to grow brighter and brighter.

“ _Hold on! Don’t be so reckless and use the cannon this early! Who knows when you’ll be able to use it again!_ ” Keith yelled over the coms, holding back a curse of frustration when he still hadn’t located the ship.

“We do not have the time, Yorak!” Lotor fired off a few shots at the cruiser, spinning away from several fighters and leading them in a circle so Acxa could pick them off.

Keith audibly growled, “ _I know! But just trust me!_ ”

Lotor pursed his lips slightly for a moment before he nodded and said, “Zethrid. Disengage for the time being and switch back to primary fire. Let us trust Yorak.”

“ _Understood_.”

With their plan changed they were left to fire and dodge the destructive beam of the Zaiforge and the lasers from the Galra fighters. One too many times their little team almost suffered a near hit. However thankfully because of their quick ships they were able to keep the battle cruiser distracted long enough for the rebels to collect behind a massive asteroid. 

Through the tense atmosphere they heard a voice over their coms shout “ _Found you_ ”. Everyone collectively held their breaths. Then after what felt like vargas a bright beam of purple light shot through the cosmos and slammed into the side of the cruiser’s shield. In a matter of moments the shield was down and the ship was vulnerable.

Olia barked out a triumphant cry, her remaining fleet of rebels streaming out from behind the asteroid. “ _Alright! Let’s get that cannon!_ ”

While Olia and her team worked on infiltrating and capturing the cruiser, Lotor fell back to float idly with the rest of his squad. They took out any straggling fighters but eventually the remaining ones were turned off. That was when Lotor knew the cruiser had been successfully apprehended.

From there everything just seemed to fall into place. The attacks were going exceptionally well and thanks to Coran’s live narration they were able to keep tabs on what was going on with the others. However after Coran announced the approaching battle cruiser the Zaiforge cannons were then remotely shut down one after the other.

“ _Something’s wrong._ ” Acxa’s face appeared on Lotor’s screen, her frown visible even through her tinted helmet. “ _We should prepare for another fight just in case._ ”

“ _But it’s just one cruiser._ ” Ezor said just as her own image appeared. “ _And the kitties almost have control of Naxzela anyways._ ”

“ _Don’t be so complacent. When has it ever been this easy with the Galra?_ ” 

And indeed Acxa was right. Within the span of twenty doboshes the tides were suddenly turned. Something was happening on Naxzela and Voltron was suffering from it. 

“Shiro!” Keith yelled into his coms as he ran through the jungle. He’d left the rest of the Blades to watch this base while he summoned White to his location. “Coran! Something’s wrong. I can’t get into contact with Voltron!”

It took a moment before Coran’s voice came back through Keith’s communicator. “ _There’s magnetic distortion coming from Naxzela!_ ”

“Got it. I’ll check it out.” Keith jumped up and his jetpack activated, boosting him high into the air just as White emerged from a wormhole. The moment those jaws clamped down around Keith another wormhole was bursting to life that White shot through. 

Keith made his way from White’s maw to his chair, pulling back his hood and deactivating his mask. “Matt, Lotor, Coran and I can’t reach Voltron. We think something might be wrong.”

“ _We can head over to Naxzela to check._ ” Matt answered after a moment.

“No, I need you guys to head towards the fleet. I’ll go to Naxzela.”

“ _You sure? Didn’t the fleet stop?_ ”

“It did. But I have a feeling whatever is going on with Voltron, that fleet is the cause of it. I’ll reach Naxzela in no time with White.”

“ _We understand. Avok Fighters moving out._ ”

“ _Copy that, we’re right behind you_.”

With that settled Keith felt some of the tension leave him after a small sigh. But the concern he felt still threatened to suffocate him at a moment’s notice. Keith swallowed past a growing lump and sent a silent prayer to the stars that Voltron would be fine.

He emerged from the wormhole in a flourish of light and instantly noticed something amiss. For one there was absolutely no Galra cruisers or fighters surrounding Naxzela. And the most glaring thing was that said planet was encased in a dome made of pink hexagonal pieces.

His breath hitched, violet eyes widening as he realized what was going on. Naxzela… It was a terraforming planet! An old Altean one! Fuck! He had to get Voltron out of there **now**.

Keith didn’t think as he opened up a wormhole directly onto the planet’s surface. He knew from previous attempts that a call wouldn’t go through. And because of that Voltron wouldn’t know where he was opening the portal. But he had no time to worry about that. Voltron needed to escape the planet and Keith had the perfect means for that. 

Without a second though he charged forward, ready to pass through the wormhole only to be interrupted by something happening on the planet. It took tremendous effort to pull back and stop White’s momentum from careening right into the wormhole. But when he saw what it was that caught his eye, he was glad he stopped.

Voltron had somehow shattered through the barrier surrounding Naxzela and were currently boosting off in the direction Keith knew the battle cruiser to be in. He watched them fly as his wormhole closed, the Altean preparing to hail a frequency to get their attention. However he didn’t need to. In a single tick Shiro’s face appeared on his screen with his features shadowed by determination.

“ _Keith, can you hear me? Where are you?_ ”

He was momentarily at a loss for words before suddenly the Altean snorted. “Look left!”

It was beyond amusing to watch Voltron freeze and turn its head to look where he directed. He could see Shiro’s face light up in surprise before a warm smile bloomed.

“ _Oh, you’re here_.”

“I got worried.” Was all he said with a shrug of his shoulder.

Shiro managed a wry chuckle as Voltron and White flew closer to each other. “ _Well we’re glad you’re here. We need to get to Zarkon’s witch. She’s aboard the battle cruiser._ ”

Keith nodded, “Got it. I’ll open up a wormhole for us now. Lotor and the Rebel Squad are en route.”

Allura’s face appeared on screen beside Shiro. She looked to Keith with obvious concern. “ _Yorak, are you sure? We still don’t know if Zarkon is aware of your Lion. Should we really risk you coming with us?_ ”

“There’s no way I’m sitting this one out. I’m going with you guys.” His tone left no room for coercion. So with a nod in understanding Allura and Shiro’s faces disappeared off his screen. 

White danced around Voltron, the little Lion dwarfed by the massive mecha. Then with a mighty roar Keith summoned a wormhole big enough for Voltron to slip through. It was a bit of a strain for him to keep it open for so long as this was as big of a wormhole as he could make. But soon both Voltron and he were slipping through it and travelling at breakneck speeds to reach the other side.

The moment they emerged it was as if all Hell broke loose. The rebels were firing at both the ship and its shield, the Avok Fighters joining them in the attack. All around them like swarming locus were the purple Galra fighters and bright balls of explosions as they were taken out from laser fire. It was, to put it bluntly, a warzone. 

“Lotor! What’s the status?” Shiro demanded just as he and the other Paladins propelled Voltron forward.

“ _The shield on the cruiser’s weapon is proving to be rather difficult. Zethrid, how charged is your cannon?_ ”

“ _Ready to fire! Let’s take out that shield!_ ”

Zethrid’s ship was humming with energy, the cannon lighting up even brighter before an explosion of energy burst forth. The beam shot straight through the shield and emerged on the other side in one fell swoop. Instantly the purple dome crumbled like wet paper and left the weapon exposed.

“Alright team! Form sword!”

In the blink of an eye Voltron had darted past the weapon with its sword drawn. Then a line appeared where Voltron had cut, the metal turning red and soon explosions began dancing along the device. Each pop of fire caused an even bigger one right next to it. In the end the entire weapon was consumed by the many different explosions, casting shrapnel and other bits out into the cosmos.

There was a collective pause, everyone holding their breath. Either for the supposed planet-wiping explosion that would happen or for another onslaught of fighters. Then the battle cruiser was powering up and warping away, leaving the Voltron coalition alone amongst the wreckage. 

In the next moment Coran began speaking over the coms, relief practically bleeding from every word. “ _Naxzela is returning to normal! You did it!!_ ”

“ _Yes!!_ ”

“ _Way to go everyone!!!_ ”

With Coran’s confirmation they could all breathe a sigh of relief. They did it. They prevented an explosion that would’ve wiped out thousands, if not millions. And not only that, but they _actually_ captured Naxzela. A key component in the Galra’s control. 

Shiro grinned as he contacted the members of the coalition, projecting his face onto their screens as he spoke. “Everyone, I know you’re excited but the battle isn’t over yet. The rest of the coalition needs our help securing control. We’re going to split everyone up into teams and send them out to ensure the planets have been liberated. Let’s not have our fallen comrades sacrifices be in vain!”

With Shiro delegating teams and Keith opening up wormholes for them to jump through everyone reached their destinations in no time to help aid the other coalition members. From there the smaller battles were easily won one by one. It took several more varga before they could finally call the mission a success.

After the fighting had subsided and everyone split to return to their bases of operations, the Paladins of Voltron and the members of Avok returned to the castle ship for a much needed rest. They showered off the sweat and grime of the day with energy still thrumming through them. No one could stop talking about the events of the day even as they sat down to eat. 

With the ship’s night-cycle activating you’d think this would prompt everyone to head to bed. But no. Quite the opposite in fact. Hunk and Ezor had excitedly proclaimed a “ _group slumber party_ ” and had dragged everyone into one of the lounges to drink, snack, and simply bask in good company.

Coran sat next to Keith with his feet propped up on his companion’s lap. Behind Keith, Narti was playing with his hair, Acxa beside her and instructing her how to braid. Shiro watched them in amusement as he chatted with Allura, her own hair done up with twin braids. One was a bit lopsided while the other was pristine but Allura didn’t seem to mind one bit. 

In a little huddle off to the side Lance and Hunk were teaching Zethrid and Ezor how to play a human card game. Zethrid didn’t seem too interested but she was putting some effort into learning how to play. Ezor, on the other hand, had enough raw enthusiasm for the both of them.

The only two not actively engaging in the merriment was Lotor and Pidge. The Green Paladin was sitting beside the Prince, the two of them watching the group in content silence. He had seen her sitting by her lonesome and had taken it upon himself to come and provide company even if he didn’t say anything. He could tell that there was something on her mind, especially from the sad-tinged smile she wore.

“I’m excited about our wins today,” She said after a moment, amber eyes turning to the Prince. Lotor inclined his head in her direction to show he was listening. He didn’t have to wait long for Pidge to continue her train of thought. “I just… I just wish my dad was here to enjoy it with us.”

Ah, that made sense. Silently Lotor wondered if he might feel envious over Pidge’s positive bond with her father. Maybe somewhere deep inside he did feel a hint of envy. An envy of wanting to have a devoted bond like that with his biological father… But then the feeling was gently pushed aside as Lotor remembered that he didn’t need such ties with Zarkon. He had Keith in his life, that was more than enough.

“Tell me about him? I can believe that he and your mother are extraordinary individuals for being able to raise such strong and brilliant children such as you and Matthew.”

Pidge snorted, “Don’t let Matt hear you call him brilliant and strong. He’ll just get an even bigger head than usual.” Her soft laughter gradually tapered off before she sighed and said, “My dad… He’s extremely smart. And loyal. He did what he thought was right and wasn’t afraid to go against the grain for it. He also liked to take care of others. Took care of Shiro like he was a son. Keith and Adam too.”

Lotor nodded, “He seems like a good man. I can only hope when I meet him he does not hold his imprisonment at my father’s hands against me.”

“Don’t worry, my dad’s not like that.” She smiled lightly and leaned over to bump her shoulder against Lotor’s. “If anything he’d be happy to know you’re nothing like Zarkon. My dad’s a scientist so he’s pretty open-minded about _everything_. And if he doesn’t know enough about something he’ll want to learn more. So I’m sure if he meets you he’ll see that not all Galra are like Zarkon, just like we learned.”

Pidge paused from adding more when she saw the funny look that crossed over Lotor’s face. She frowned, her own expression scrunching up in puzzlement. “What?”

“Your father is… A scientist?”

“Yeah? Have I never said it before?” A pause, “But why does it matter?”

Lotor suddenly looked contemplative, cupping his lower face with his eyes darting back and forth as he thought about something. Then suddenly his eyes widened and he turned fully to regard Pidge. “I might know where they’re keeping your father!”

In his excitement he unintentionally raised his voice so his sudden exclamation had everyone pausing to look their way. Pidge’s breath hitched and was too busy staring holes into Lotor’s face to worry about being the center of attention so suddenly. She swallowed, her hands clenching into fists on her lap. “What… What do you mean?”

“Your father is a scientist, yes? This changes things. This whole time I was under the impression he was a simple prisoner like Matthew, but now it makes sense! It’s no wonder we haven’t been able to find him in any of the databases we’ve checked thus far. Before I was banished I had a prison I was in charge of. Any scientist of notable worth was usually sent there to work. And to avoid being tracked, any information about them was usually wiped from all systems except the command center.” Lotor explained, eyes shining in excitement at having recalled something of great importance. “It has been quite a few deca-phoebs so I am not quite sure if it’s still in use, but it’s worth a check.”

Pidge sputtered and quickly stood up in excitement. “I’ve got to tell Matt! Tomorrow! We’ll go check it out tomorrow!!”

As she rushed past to probably go and grab her communicator, Coran somehow managed to grab her and pull her to sit down next to him. “Yes, tomorrow. Right now we’re bonding as a team so going off to chitter chat with siblings has to be put off!”

“But Coran!! This is important!”

Keith chuckled, pulling out his communicator and reaching over Coran to hand it to her. “We know it’s important. But Coran just doesn’t want you leaving yet. Who knows how long you’ll sit there talking to Matt.” 

“Yeah!” Ezor somehow materialized behind Coran, draping herself over the older Altean’s back so she could poke at Pidge’s cheek. “Come play cards with us after your call. I’m winning the Old Maid.” 

“It’s not winning if you’re cheating!” Lance called from where he sat. “Also Lotor! Get your pretty butt over here and come play too! You don’t get to just sit there and not participate!!” 

Lotor blinked, his cheeks colouring a slightly darker purple before he chuckled and followed Lance’s demand. He moved to sit beside the Red Paladin and crossed his legs beneath himself. “You will have to teach me how to play this ‘ _Old Maid_ ’.” 

Hunk flashed the Prince a reassuring smile, “Of course dude. I’ll explain it as simplified as I can.” 

“Oh! I wish to learn how to play as well!” Allura’s conversation with Shiro had ended so she was quite eager to join the little game. 

There was plenty of shuffling as the circle of those playing expanded with several more people added to the mix. Somehow Shiro and Keith, one of the few content just watching the game, ended up sitting next to each other. Keith leaned against Shiro and sighed, eyes half-lidded as the exhaustion of the day gradually crept up on him. 

“You doing ok?” Shiro lowered his voice to a whisper so he didn’t catch anyone’s attention other than Keith’s. Though thankfully the few in the room with hearing far _better_ than a human’s politely pretended not to hear anything being whispered.

“Mmm.” Keith turned his face to lean his cheek against Shiro’s shoulder. “Just tired. Opened a lot of wormholes today. Nearly got shot a couple times. Almost died in a galaxy-wiping explosion.”

Shiro chuckled and slid his arm around Keith’s shoulders so he could pull him closer, if that was even possible. “You should rest. I’m sure you’ll want to be going with Pidge and Matt tomorrow to retrieve Sam.”

Keith hummed at the thought before drowsily shaking his head. “Nah… I’ll leave it up to Lotor and them to bring Sam back. Sam deserves one revelation at a time. For instance he’s got to learn that _both_ his kids are in space, one an actual Voltron Paladin. Then he’s got to learn that the Prince of the Galra is an active and close member of the Voltron coalition. And on top of **that** , there’s the fact the ‘human boy’ he’s known for several deca-phoebs has actually been an alien thousands of deca-phoebs older than him. And that’s probably just the tip of the iceberg. So yeah. He’ll have a lot on his plate.” As he spoke his words gradually turned slurred. Shiro radiated warmth and Keith was just so comfortable it was hard for him to not want to sleep. He didn’t try to hide his yawn as he snuggled even closer to Shiro. “Plus… He’s got a lot to deal with… Back on… Earth…” And with that Keith had finally fallen unconscious.

Shiro filed away the little tidbit that was no doubt a prediction from the Guardian. Though was it really a prediction when whatever it saw was the actual future? Instead of pondering that question Shiro instead shifted so Keith was laying more comfortably against him. Once he was sure the Altean was situated, Shiro looked back up to see how the game was going. Only the game wasn’t being played. In fact no one was even looking at the cards. They were too busy staring at Shiro and Keith like they were animals in an exhibit.

Shiro flushed a bright red before he narrowed his eyes and gave the team a pointed look. There were a few snickers from some of the group but thankfully they didn’t say anything and returned back to their game. Shiro breathed a sigh of relief before he jumped slightly as a blanket came to settle over both him and Keith. 

He looked up towards a warmly smiling Coran, the orange-haired Altean reaching out to gently pat down Keith’s hair. “Thank you for watching over him, Shiro. You’ve done Keith a lot of good.”

“Really?” Shiro blinked in surprise at Coran’s words.

The Altean nodded, “Indeed. I’m sure his mothers can rest in peace knowing he’s got someone such as yourself supporting him.”

Heart clenching, Shiro swallowed past the sudden well of emotion building up in his throat. He gave Coran a thankful smile. Though Shiro wanted to ask more about Keith’s mothers, to truly know if they’d approve of him or not, he didn’t ask. They were Keith’s parents, not Coran’s. If he wanted to know more about them then he should ask Keith directly. Though hold on a minute… _Approve of him_?? Why was Shiro suddenly thinking about that?! He hasn’t even met Keith’s adoptive mother yet! Would **she** even approve of him? Did Keith’s other family members approve? Wait, why was he **still** thinking about seeking their approval? For what?!

Whatever expression he had on his face had Coran quirking a brow and hiding his chuckle of amusement. How fascinating. Humans could change colours just like Alteans, though it seemed like it was an involuntary reaction. Coran twiddled his mustache gleefully before making his way back towards where he’d chosen to sit to watch the card game.

Thankfully after that Shiro wasn’t subjected to any more confusing thoughts courtesy of a remark his team might’ve said. If Shiro actually sat and analyzed his feelings and thoughts then maybe he could come to an understanding. But as it was now Shiro couldn’t spare a moment for self-reflection. They were in the middle of a war, after all. Maybe when it was over he could explore whatever this was that was forming between him and Keith. Because something **was** forming. He had enough awareness to admit that at least. 

But as Shiro was to learn in the coming months, the feelings sprouting in his chest would not heed his reasoning’s. They’ll bloom regardless of the time or place. Even in the middle of a war such as this. And all Shiro could possibly do was hold on and enjoy the ride.


	13. A Family Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They're off on a hero's journey!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: So if you follow me on twitter you would've noticed me ranting about this the previous week. How is it that a prison holding the most brilliant minds across the galaxy has a fully automated prison system? One that Matt says can be shut down with a simple override? My point is how is that possible without any of the freaking scientists trying to escape by hacking the system? Like?? Pretty sure they should've been able to do that. Or someone at least attempt to try it. This was just a detail that bugged me so for the sake of my annoyances I decided to alter that little tidbit so there's no sentries but actual Galra as guards. You'll also notice that isn't the only thing I've altered! I wonder what that means for the future :3c Stay tuned~

“Ready to go?” Lotor asked as he stood in front of the Holt siblings. 

“Yep!” Pidge said with a grin.

“As ever! Though you sure we shouldn’t have backup?”

Lotor shook his head, “If there are less of us then the chance of being noticed dwindles. Which is why I will be leaving behind Avok 1 and travelling with you in Green.”

Matt hummed but nodded in agreement, “You have a point. But what if we really do get stuck in a pickle?”

The Galran Prince frowned ever so slightly, “Earth vegetables aside, I trust that we will be fine.”

“Besides Keith’s ready to leap through a wormhole if we need it.” Pidge nudged her brother and grinned, “Come on, Matt. Let’s go get dad back.”

“But we aren’t even sure if he’ll be there.” Despite Matt’s words it was clear he was just as excited as Pidge. 

The two siblings rushed to board Green, Lotor going considerably slower on account of him walking. However he paused just at the base of Green’s ramp when he heard someone calling out his name. He turned and saw Allura jogging up to him with a small satchel in hand. 

“ _I’m glad I reached you in time!_ ” She exhaled, cheeks flushed from having run from the castle ship.

Lotor smiled and dipped his head cordially towards the Altean Princess. “ _Was there something you wished to tell us before our departure?_ ”

“ _Ah! Oh well nothing important._ ” Allura cleared her throat before blushing a shade darker and thrusting the satchel out to him. “ _I-I was just coming to deliver these! Hunk made sandwiches for your trip since he wasn’t sure how long it would be. ‘The nutrition pouches only do so much for your health’, as he says._ ”

Lotor smiled warmly as he took the offered satchel. “ _Well do give Hunk my thanks. And thank you, Princess Allura, for delivering them to us._ ”

“ _Please, call me Allura_.”

That took Lotor by surprise. His eyes widened and he stuttered out, “ _I-I couldn’t possibly! It would be presumptuous of me to neglect your title._ ”

Allura chuckled before she glanced to the side. She tucked away a stray hair that had managed to slip from her bun. “ _Well consider it a privilege I don’t grant to most. Just those I view to be close friends. And besides you’ve already allowed us to address you without your title. Surely I can grant you the same curtesy._ ”

It was Lotor’s turn to blush, the young Prince raising a fist to cover his mouth and clear his throat in embarrassment. “ _Well… Thank you, Allura._ ” 

That caused the two of them to turn a darker shade of blue and purple respectively. They stood there, clearly hesitant on what else to say amidst the slowly thickening atmosphere. Then like a blessing, or maybe a curse, Pidge stuck her head out to see what was keeping Lotor from boarding. 

She took one look at the two blushing royals before rolling her eyes and shouting, “Let’s go already!”

It was far too entertaining to see both of them startle. Lotor’s flush grew to reach the tips of his ears and disappear past the high-collar of his Avok uniform. “R-right. I’d best not keep them waiting!”

“Of course! Do take care.” Allura shuffled backwards and clasped her hands behind her back. “Good luck Pidge! I hope you find your father!”

Pidge gave a two fingered salute in response before disappearing back inside Green. Lotor, after bidding Allura a quick farewell, followed after. Thankfully once onboard neither of the Holt siblings commented on what took him so long. Instead Pidge ran through the necessary drills before logging in the coordinates Lotor gave her and launching Green up through the atmosphere and out into space.

It took them about two varga to get half-way there even with the constant speed Green was going at. During a quick break to eat their sandwiches, Lotor gave a brief rundown on what he remembered about the prison.

“It’s one of the few prisons run solely by soldiers and not sentries.” He explained after he washed down his mouthful of food with a water pouch.

“No sentries? Why?”

“Duh,” Matt gave Pidge a pointed look and tapped the side of his head. “Think about it. Would it really be smart to put a bunch of robots around the galaxy’s greatest minds? That’s like asking for a prison riot!”

“Indeed Matthew is right. It was to avoid having the sentries potentially hacked and turned against the prison guards.” Lotor finished his water pouch before clearing his throat. “Be prepared for a fight once we get there.”

“I’ll probably need to block communications coming to and from the prison just so they can’t call for help.” Pidge bit her thumb as her mind worked out potential solutions. “I can run an encryption but it’ll have to be from Green. Just so I have cover and all.”

“That would be best. Thankfully because there are only Galra stationed at the prison we won’t have to face too many fighters.” 

“Alright. Then while Pidge works on keeping the skies clear and the block running, Lotor and I will force our way through the prison.” Matt nodded in satisfaction before dusting his hands off of any crumbs and standing from their little circle.

“Sounds like a plan.”

“Try not to get your butts killed.”

Matt laughed and slung an arm around his sister’s shoulders and around Lotor’s. “Come on Pidge! With me and Lotor leading the charge, what could go wrong??”

Turns out quite a bit could go wrong. And it wasn’t entirely Matt and Lotor’s fault in the matter. They’d reached the prison nestled in the crook of a massive asteroid and had activated the cloaking so they could slip through undetected. But turns out the sensors surrounding the prison were equipped to locate such a thing. The devices had turned from green to red and activated, disrupting Green’s cloaking and creating a perimeter barrier that signified intruders.

From there Pidge had to unceremoniously drop the two of them hundreds of feet above the prison just so she could battle the few fighters that have deigned to engage. Lotor wore his uniform helmet to both cover up his identity and to keep the wind from getting in his face and hair. Matt, on the other hand, chose to freefall without such cover-up. 

“Get ready for impact! Fire your jetpack!” Matt yelled before pressing the yellow button on his wrist. 

The two of them hit the ground running. Matt had swapped out his staff for a blaster while Lotor continued to use his signature sword. The two charged towards the entrance of the prison and already they could see guards stationed out front and ready for them.

“ _I’ll get in close, you pick them off from afar._ ” Lotor said, voice coming out slightly filtered from his helmet.

“Got it!”

Matt skidded to a stop behind an outcropping of rock and began laying down cover fire for Lotor. The Prince darted forward, dodging blasters and even deflecting a few shots with his sword. The vibrations it caused ran up through his arm and caused minor tremors that he shook off with familiarity.

As he rushed forward, Lotor suddenly dropped to his knees and skidded in the dirt from his momentum. He bent backwards and barely missed getting hit from oncoming blasts. He was then springing up and arching his sword to cut off the muzzle to one blaster.

Around him the four guards engaged in the fight, two getting picked off quickly the moment their attention was diverted from Matt’s cover. With them down Lotor made quick work of the other two. He struck one in the jaw with his foot that knocked the guard into the prison wall with a solid thunk. The Prince then spun and slammed his fist into the remaining guard’s gut. The Galra hunched over with a wheeze, Lotor taking the chance to strike the back of their neck with his sword pummel. That was all it took for the guard to drop forward unconscious. 

“Good job!” Matt called as he jogged over, “Now let’s go! We don’t know how long they’ll stay down.”

Lotor nodded and the two set off into the prison. Over their coms Pidge’s voice came out with a growl. “ _What’s your status?_ ”

“We took out the guards out front and are heading inside right now. How about you?”

“ _Shot down some fighters but the last two seriously want my tail! I’ll try and keep them occupied while you guys try and find dad!_ ”

“ _Stay alert. And do not forget to set up that block_.”

“ _Launching it now! Just hurry! You’ve got about ten minutes tops!_ ”

Matt barked a laugh, “We’ll make it in five!”

The two of them tore through the halls at a breakneck speed. Matt honestly didn’t even need to raise his blaster as Lotor made quick work of incapacitating all the guards they came across. At this rate Matt was beginning to feel more like an accessory. Or a cheerleader.

“ _The main area of the prison is this way_.” Lotor said, the two of them creeping through the halls. The green lights of the prison had switched to red and a low pitched alarm would sound off at intervals. “ _My guess is that they locked everyone in their cells the moment we alerted the defense systems_.”

“Alright. So we take out the guards and from there it should be smooth sailing?”

“ _Hopefully._ ”

“Right,” Matt sighed quickly before readying his blaster and nodding to Lotor. “Then let’s do this.”

Lotor returned the nod before the two of them were rushing to the banister overlooking the room. While Matt stood at the top and began firing, Lotor vaulted over the side and dropped to the ground. He engaged in combat with several Galra while Matt kept another handful at bay. 

There were crashing and yelling as Lotor knocked Galra into the furniture strewn about and they toppled over. The slighter half-breed used his opponent’s height against them as he fought. He slashed with his sword, driving his foes back before striking forward quick as a serpent and knocking their feet out from under them. 

As Lotor finished off the guard he was fighting another one began slinking up behind him. The Galra raised his blaster and aimed at the Prince’s unguarded back. Just as he was ready to pull the trigger his blaster was suddenly shot out of his hands. The Galra yelped at the burn, head snapping up just in time to see a boot coming right for his face.

Matt had thrown himself off the banister after shooting and had landed perfectly on the last remaining Galra. The impact from his foot slamming into the guard’s face was enough to knock them back and trip over the prone figure of another guard. With a crash that guard landed into upturned table and fell unconscious with a groan.

Both men stood, one breathing harder than the other. Lotor cleared his throat before nodding at Matt. “ _Thanks for that._ ”

“No problem. I’m sure you had it covered.” Matt cracked a grin and gestured to all the unconscious guards around them. “You’re like a one-man army!”

Lotor chuckled beneath his helmet before flicking his head towards a door behind them. “ _Go and open the cells for the prisoners. I’ll get to work on turning off the alarms_.”

“Got it!”

Matt ran through the hall with his blood pounding and apprehension choking him like a noose. His hands trembled and he felt like his legs were going to give out as he skidded to a stop in front of the prison cells. Matt urgently pressed a hand to the lock, the door groaning and opening with a hiss.

By the time the doors were fully open the alarm had cut off and the lights had turned back to green. A few aliens stuck their heads out from their cells, curiosity and apprehension twisting their face. However at the sight of Matt, a lone human, their unease quickly turned to confusion.

“Everyone!” Matt yelled, “We’re here to rescue you!” 

Footsteps behind Matt had him tensing for a moment before he turned and saw that it was merely Lotor jogging over. The Galra Prince stopped beside Matt and gestured towards the prisoners.

“ _Please follow me, I will escort you outside where you can board the Green Lion. But we must hurry! We don’t have a lot of time before more Galra arrive._ ”

That instantly sparked movement in the prisoners. As they rushed to exit, Lotor gave Matthew’s shoulder a firm pat. He turned his tinted visor to the other and said, “ _Go, search the cells. I’ll make sure everyone leaves safely._ ”

Matt offered a grateful smile and nod before he was taking off down the hall and running past prisoners. A few other prisoners had done the same the moment it was clear they were being rescued. They were rushing down the halls and shouting for everyone to leave, sparking more interest in the ones who hadn’t heard Matt and Lotor’s voices.

Through the barracks Matt ran, dodging past eager prisoners and desperately hoping that his father was here. He tried to ask if any prisoners had seen a fellow human but either they couldn’t understand him or they were ignoring him in their eager haste to leave. 

Matt bit his lip and focused on opening door after door in the hopes that maybe one of them housed his father. The feeling was near suffocating at this point and Matt didn’t know what he’d do it this didn’t work. The prison guards hadn’t been expecting them so surely they hadn’t had the chance to move Sam, right? But then again that was **if** Sam had been here in the first place. What if he wasn’t? What if Lotor had been wrong?

Just as Matt was slowly letting his panicked thoughts consume him, he rounded the final corner and froze in his tracks. His lungs seemed to forget how to take in air and Matt was left there gaping. The man before him was helping a limping alien out of their cell, his head down as his attention was focused solely on the alien clinging to him.

The man was gaunt, clearly malnourished. He looked filthy with both his hair and facial hair unkempt and grown out. He appeared older, far older than the year—almost two— out in space would suggest. But no matter how much time had passed or how his looks have changed, Matthew Holt would always be able to recognize his father.

“Dad…” Matt whispered, voice hitching.

Sam’s head snapped up and his eyes widened. He gasped softly, freezing in place. “Matt?” He looked as if he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Like this was a hallucination brought upon by a father desperate to see his son alive and well.

The alien took one look at the two before they patted Sam’s hands and let go. They shuffled to lean against the wall and only winced slightly before crooning in a warbly voice, “Go. I here. Stay till done.”

Sam needed no further prompting to rush forward. Matt met him halfway and soon the two were wrapped up in a crushing hug. Matt fought tears, his breath hitching a couple of times as he tried desperately to keep it together. He gripped at Sam’s shoulders and nearly broke down when he felt his father’s bones through the thin prison suit. His father felt so frail in his arms with how emaciated he was. Matt had never seen or felt his father like this before and it scared him.

“Oh Matt!” Sam held Matt as tight as he could, pressing a kiss to the top of his son’s head. “You’re alright!! You’re alright…” Sam repeated that to himself like a chant, maybe a prayer. His heart which had been torn and broken with every day that passed not knowing what happened to his boys was finally being mended. He closed his eyes and buried his face into his son’s hair, clinging to him like Matt would be ripped away at any moment.

“Oh God we found you!” Matt pulled away so he could give his father a watery laugh. He hiccupped, wiping at his face and grinning. “Pidge is going to flip!”

That had Sam’s eyes widening behind his glasses. “What? Katie?? What do you mean? She’s out here?!”

“Long story. Trust me you’re going to freak out as much as I did. But first we have to get out of the prison.”

Sam looked hesitant but eventually he nodded and together the two went to help the alien hobble out of the prison. Lotor was standing on the second floor near the banister when he spotted them. He visibly relaxed and gestured towards the direction of the prison entrance.

“ _Pidge has informed me that so far all the prisoners have made it on board without incident. However she fears we’ll have company soon so Allura is on standby with a wormhole ready_.”

“Got it! Let’s not keep them waiting then!”

Sam sent a curious look over towards the well-spoken masked individual. Lotor noticed his glance and dipped his head in greeting. While he’d like to introduce himself, now was not the time. Especially since his identity might cause many of the former prisoners to panic. Who knows if word has reached them yet about Lotor being an enemy to the Empire? The logical assumption was that they probably didn’t know.

The four of them exited the prison with Lotor in the lead, making sure none of the guards had woken up to give them trouble. Once outside Samuel Holt gave an audible gasp as he looked up at the massive Green Lion hunched before the prison entrance with her jaws wide open.

“My God…” He breathed, eyes wide.

Matt grinned and said cheekily, “If you think she’s amazing, wait till you meet her pilot.”

They boarded and Green’s mouth closed not a moment after. Only when Lotor entered the cockpit to tell Pidge everyone was settled did Green stand and turn from the prison. The large Lion galloped across the rocky terrain before their jets activated and they were blasting away from the rocky ground. 

Green was darting through a wormhole the moment it appeared. Pidge then jumped up from her seat and quickly said, “Take us home, girl!” Before she was booking it out of the cockpit and leaving an amused Lotor behind. He decided he’d let the Holts have their moment. It was, after all, long overdue.

Pidge had seen them exit the prison from where she sat in Green. It had taken everything in her not to launch herself out of the Lion and down the ramp to hug her father. She had to get them to safety first before that could happen. And now that they were on their way back to Oriande Pidge could allow herself that chance.

She rushed into the cargo hold, eyes zeroing in on Matt who was sitting beside their father and eagerly telling him everything that had happened to the rebel fighter. He paused, a grin breaking out along his face as he caught sight of Pidge. Sam followed his gaze and his own eyes grew when he saw the Green Paladin. Even with the helmet on it wasn’t hard for him to tell who it was.

“Dad!”

“Katie?” Sam, in his disbelief, didn’t react in time to brace for Pidge dropping in front of him and throwing herself into his arms. Thankfully Matt was there to keep Sam from collapsing backwards.

“I can’t believe we found you!” She sobbed, tears spilling down her face.

Sam also looked ready to start crying and Matt wasn’t far behind. The older Holt reached up, pulling off Pidge’s helmet before dropping it to the floor. Then he cupped her face, looking over his youngest child.

“Oh Katie, you’re here! How is this even possible?” 

Pidge chuckled, hiccupping and raising a hand to wipe her face. “You’ve got Keith to thank for that.”

“Keith?”

“Oooh man!! Dad you’re not going to believe this!” Matt practically squealed as he began flapping his hands. “I mean I wouldn’t have believed it either but I’ve seen Keith and oh my God he was holding back this whole time! I swear he could’ve turned Shiro’s bones to _powder_ when they sparred back at the Garrison! I’m glad I never faced him!”

Sam looked confused for a moment, glancing to Pidge. She merely grinned and laughed, “You’ll understand when you see him.” She then sniffed, a new flood of tears welling up before she was burying her face into Sam’s dirty prison uniform. “I thought I’d never get to see you again.” 

Expression softening, Sam allowed his own tears to finally fall as he hugged both Matt and Pidge close. He kissed their heads and simply held them. His heart felt at ease for the first time in months. The only thing that would make it better was if Shiro was safe and well. Sam honestly hoped that boy was alright.

Their little moment was interrupted by someone clearing their throat. The Holts, along with the huddled prisoners, all looked towards the door leading to the cockpit. 

Lotor stood there, helmet still on and his hands hanging loosely at his sides. “ _We’re approaching Oriande. I have informed Allura that we have quite a few onboard that need medical attention._ _And because Yorak asked, I’ve also informed them that Samuel Holt has been found._ ”

“Thanks Lotor.” Pidge smiled gratefully at the Prince.

“Wait… Lotor?” An alien whispered, wide eyes turning to look at the masked Galra. “As in… Prince Zarkon’s son?!”

A tide of unrest suddenly erupted amongst the former prisoners as they all collectively tried to scoot away from Lotor like he was diseased. Some started wailing, crying and clawing at the walls of Green in a desperate attempt to escape. 

“This is a trap!”

“We aren’t free!!”

It was utter pandemonium and Lotor visibly flinched as each scream rose up. Pidge and Matt cursed, the two springing up to stand in front of their companion.

“Hold on! Everyone calm down! This isn’t a trap!” Matt urged, hands raised in a placating gesture.

Lotor hesitated before he reached up, pressing a button that unlatched his helmet. He then pulled it off, his long hair tumbling out and only taking a few shakes of his head before it looked perfectly styled. 

The reveal of his face had another wave of unease washing over the crowd. One of the aliens cowered, burying their face into their many hands and shaking as they cried. “It really is him!! We’re doomed!”

“Hey!” Pidge yelled, hands clenched at her sides. “Ok yes, this is Zarkon’s son! But Lotor is a part of the Voltron coalition! He has been for months now! He’s a loyal and valuable friend to Voltron! I trust him with my life!”

Lotor clearly seemed touched at her declaration and he whispered a soft, “Pidge…” 

She flashed him a reassuring grin before turning back to address the crow of crying aliens. “Look just… I promise we’re not here to hurt you. Why would we bother breaking you out if we were just going to trap you again?”

That at least seemed to calm a few of the prisoners down. Though they clearly stared at Lotor in distrust and, for some, outright hate. Pidge felt righteous anger over that and puffed up like she was ready to go on another rant. However when a hand fell to her shoulder she stopped and looked up at Lotor’s small, resigned smile.

“It’s alright, Pidge. This kind of reaction is to be expected. I’ll just sit in the cockpit till we’ve landed.”

“But—!” 

“I’ll go with.” Matt cut off Pidge’s protests with a smile. He then nudged Lotor, leading him towards the cockpit. “How much you wanna bet my dad flips at Keith?”

That caused Lotor to chuckle softly, “I’ll bet 4 GAC.”

“Really? _Only_ 4? Ain’t you a Prince?”

“Ah yes, let me just call Zarkon and ask for a loan. Brilliant.” 

Their banter was cut off as the doors to the cockpit closed. Pidge stared at the door, a myriad of expressions crossing her face before she turned around and stomped back over to her dad. She sat down next to him, legs pulled up to her chest and a scowl in place.

“It’s not fair.” Pidge mumbled quietly, scowling down at her boots. “Lotor’s done so much just to help Voltron. He even acted as a spy! Without him we wouldn’t have been able to do so much! We wouldn’t have been able to find you!!” Pidge turned to look at Sam with wide, imploring eyes. “He isn’t a bad guy, dad.”

Sam seemed slightly conflicted for a moment before he sighed and offered a tired smile. “With how readily you and Matt defend him, I can’t help but trust your judgement.”

Pidge cracked a smile at that. She knew her dad would side with her. Just wait. He’ll see firsthand how trustworthy Lotor was.

Green landed on Oriande not long after and the moment the doors opened, Ryner was there to greet them with a team of medics. The relief that flooded the former prisoner’s faces was accompanied by a new deluge of tears as they were led away to get checked over. 

Off to the side stood the members of Voltron and Avok, the group collectively waiting for the rest of their team to file out behind their new refuges. Pidge and Sam came down first, the Green Paladin clinging to her father like a limpet. 

The first person Sam recognized in the little group was Shiro. His eyes widened and he gasped, “Shiro!” 

“Commander Holt,” Shiro stepped forward, grasping the man’s slighter hand and allowing himself to be tugged into a hug. 

“I’m happy to see you!” Sam exhaled a shaky breath and patted Shiro’s back. His heart could rest easy now knowing that both his boys were safe.

Then he caught sight of another familiar face, though this one was different. He frowned, squinting. “Keith?”

The Altean cracked a smile, his white hair swept up in a high ponytail with his bangs pushed back to show off his marks and ears. Almost as if he’d purposefully done his hair up in this style to further emphasize his alien traits. “Commander, it’s good to see you safe and sound.” His eyes flickered past Sam towards Lotor and Matt. He nodded towards the two, “How was it?”

“It was pretty easy! Lotor took out most of the guards so I just had to stand there and look pretty.” Matt finished his statement with a laugh and a friendly punch to Lotor’s shoulder.

Lotor chuckled, smiling sheepishly. “Apologies. Had I known you wanted more foes to face, I would have allowed you some.”

“Nah, my fault. I picked a blaster instead of my staff.” 

“Hold on, hold on.” Sam waved his hands, mind working a mile a minute as he stared at Keith. “You’re here? A-and Pidge said she’s out here too because of you…”

Taking this moment to step in, Allura bowed slightly to the confused human. “There will be time for explanations later. As well as introductions. But please, I’m sure you must be quite eager for a moment to cleanse yourself and change out of those prison garbs.”

“And food! Prison food probably doesn’t taste that great and for sure has no nutrition! I’ll make something light for us to eat in case your stomach needs time adjusting. I’m thinking a goo soup with some of that garnish we found on that one bug planet. And ooh maybe I can try baking some Altean bread with what we have in stock!” Hunk eagerly began listing off potential additives he could combine with the meal. 

Coran shooed Hunk to the side, stepping up and twiddling his mustache. “Alright, come come, the Princess is right! Number 5, you show your father where the showers are. Number 5.2, you’re with me! We’re going to fabricate your father some clothes to wear.”

And with that he turned on his heel and began strutting towards the castle ship. Matt jogged to catch up while Pidge grinned and took her father by the hand to pull him after. The group all collectively laughed before they began dispersing to return to what they were doing before. 

As Keith was preparing to go back to lifting heavy objects with Allura and Zethrid, he stopped when he noticed Lotor wearing a complicated expression on his face. The Altean frowned, moving to go and ask the other what was wrong when he was stopped by Lance. 

The Red Paladin flashed him a reassuring grin, “I’ve got this. You go finish helping the reconstruction.”

Keith visibly hesitated, eyes glancing between Lotor and Lance. Then after a moment he nodded. He patted Lance on the shoulder before joining back up with a smiling Allura and an impatient Zethrid. 

Lance inhaled deep, steeling himself for a moment before he took the necessary steps to slide up next to the Prince. “Heeeey Lotor?”

Lotor blinked, having been staring off into the distance lost to his thoughts. He glanced around and only now seemed to realize everyone had pretty much gone to do their own things. He flushed lightly in embarrassment, clearing his throat before turning his eyes to Lance.

“Apologies, I was… Distracted. Yes, what is it? Am I needed for something?”

“Nothin’ like that. Just noticed you seemed… Upset?” Lance stuffed his hands into his jacket pockets and shrugged his shoulders. “At least that’s what it looked like to me.”

That caused the Prince to don on a rueful smile. He glanced down and crossed his arms over his chest. “Well you’d be on the mark…” 

The two stood in silence for a few ticks before Lance ventured to ask, “Sooo… Wanna talk about it?”

Lotor was visibly conflicted for a moment before he closed his eyes and sighed softly. “Perhaps.”

Lance nodded and gestured for the Prince to follow. The two began walking aimlessly as Lotor figured out how he wanted to phrase what was on in his mind. He wasn’t exactly used to talking about his problems. Generally there was no one who was willing to listen. And it wasn’t like he could talk to his generals about any issues he may be having either. He was a leader they looked to for stability. He couldn’t allow himself to appear weak before them.

“When we were escorting the scientists and they found out who I was, they reacted quite… Poorly.” He was clearly being generous in his wording but Lance could still guess what he meant. “And it just made me realize that I still had quite the battle before me. To be seen as more than Zarkon’s son; to be someone the galaxy can trust… It’s going to be difficult. I know I’ll be met with scorn and that everything I do will most likely be scrutinized. But I fear that any accomplishment I make, any good deed I do, won’t matter in the long run. I worry that all anyone will ever see is Lotor, Zarkon’s son and not Lotor, Galra Prince and coalition member. They’ll see my blood and not the person I am.” 

Lance nodded along, letting Lotor speak his mind as he silently listened. Despite what many people believed, Lance knew how to be quiet when it counted. And right now it seriously did. Lotor needed to get this off his chest without someone interrupting him or not taking it seriously.

“I am not used to feeling so… Uncertain.” Lotor admitted in a moment of vulnerability. “I’ve always been self-assured in my place. I knew who I was and what I was meant to do. But this fear that I will never be good enough in the eyes of everyone harmed by my father’s actions… It’s frustrating. You know I felt something similar when I met you all for the first time.” Lotor glanced fleetingly at Lance before he looked away with a strained smile. “’ _Will Voltron trust me_ ’, ‘ _have I done enough_ ’, ‘ _would Yorak be proud of me_ ’. These were just a few thoughts that would run through my head. It was suffocating. I tried to be just in anything I did no matter how much backlash I received from my father and his witch. But I always wondered if it was enough. And sometimes I find myself thinking that it isn’t. That there’s still so much more I could do.”

Lance chewed on his lip, “That’s… Heavy.”

“Yes, quite.” Lotor said accompanied by a humorless snort.

With a hiss between his teeth Lance clenched his hands into fists and kicked a rock. The two watched it bounce several feet ahead and as they got closer to it, Lotor gave it a small kick as well. The two silently passed the rock back and forth as they walked further and further to the edge of the city. But neither seemed to mind or notice, content in whatever moment they were having.

“You know I get it. That uncertainty? Feeling like what you do will never be good enough? I’ve been there.” Lance sighed and raised a hand to ruffle his hair. “I like to pretend I’m always confident. The cool Lance, nothing ruffles me! But inside… Inside I can get insecure. For the longest time I worried about my place in Voltron. ‘ _Was I really meant to pilot Blue_ ’? Turns out I wasn’t. And that just led me to begin doubting I was even meant to be a pilot at all.”

“But not just anyone can pilot the Lions.” Lotor frowned softly.

“And not just anyone can fill in after Zarkon’s punted off his throne.” Lance fired back with his own frown. 

The Red Paladin stopped walking and turned to face Lotor with his hands on his hips. “Look, I’m now confident in my place as the Red Lion’s Paladin. Don’t get me wrong, getting here was a struggle. However I had my team supporting me when bad thoughts started getting in my head.” He then stuck a finger at Lotor and poked him in the chest. “What you’re feeling sucks, yeah, but you don’t have to deal with it alone. I’m not saying to tell everyone about your problems because that takes serious levels of vulnerability to do. But what I _am_ saying is that just talking to one person can help. Maybe it won’t make everything better but at least you’ll have them supporting you when you feel lower than dirt. And heck, if you don’t feel like talking to anyone else about this then let me be your support, dude! I know what you’re feeling. Maybe not exactly because I’m not in the same situation as you but still! You don’t have to feel like this alone!”

Lance was left panting from the literal word vomit that just spilled from him. He huffed, cheeks turning a splotchy red before he crossed his arms and pouted. Then far quieter he grumbled, “We’re a team, aren’t we? So we gotta support each other.” 

Lotor stared at Lance in stunned silence for so long the poor human began to feel awkward. He shifted from foot to foot, blush spreading further along his face as his pout turned more prominent. He chanced a glance at Lotor when the silence continued to stretch on and with a stolen breath he was left stunned and staring. 

Lotor was giving him an achingly soft smile that was rarely found on the Prince’s fine face. “Thank you, Lance.” It was such a basic thank you but somehow to Lance it meant more than anything. 

Suddenly his face was engulfed in a flaming blush hot enough that his cheeks felt scorching. Though thankfully Lance managed not to squeak his next words. “No problem, man. N-now come on, let’s head back to the ship. I don’t know about you but I’m starving.”

“Lead the way,” Lotor replied amicably. 

And so with a comfortable silence falling between the two they turned and began making their way back towards the castle ship.


	14. Spare Some Mana?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You'd be surprised at how obvious things can be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: So this chapter is probably very self-indulgent. I had a ton of fun writing it and laughed at my own jokes. Whether or not you laugh at them is entirely up in the air. Was this chapter an excuse to write an au inside of an au? Yes. Have I planned this chapter since I started part 2? Oh very much so. And to have it finally be here leaves me satisfied~ A little pre-warning for the fact that unlike in the show I'll be keeping in the blood and dead bodies. They don't magically poof away in d&d (unless the dm says so) so I'll be keeping that here. Mainly for a scene in particular. You'll know it when you see it. Anyways thanks for reading. Stay safe! Till next week~   
> (Also here's who plays who w/ dnd in case you forget: Shiro (Shiro), Pike (Lance), Valayun (Allura), Block (Hunk), Meklavar (Pidge), Torvok (Lotor), and Roya (Keith))

“Whaaat? How come I can’t fight that slug? Come on Coran this is so lame!”

“It’s not lame! You can’t attack it if you’re immobile!”

That was the tail end of conversation Lotor and Keith heard when the lounge doors slid open. Both men looked on in confusion at the Paladins of Voltron. They were gathered in one of the low-level lounges, a table in between them with what looked like a holographic map projecting from it.

Their attention was diverted the moment the door opened. The group looked back at the two, expressions brightening at the sight of their friends. Keith had been sparring with the Avok Fighters for most of the morning without pause. However after going at it for several varga they finally disbanded for a break. So while the rest of the Avok Fighters went to do their own thing, Keith and Lotor had gone off to find where the Paladins were.

“Ah! Bless the stars! A veteran! Yorak come here before this lot kills me!!” Coran exclaimed with crocodile tears.

Keith shot the other an amused look and strolled further into the room. “What’s got you all wound up?”

“Coran has been trying to teach us an Altean game.” Hunk explained, “Though we’re having a bit of trouble getting things done.”

“An Altean game? This sounds interesting.” Lotor said, taking a seat beside Allura when she scooted over to make room between her and Lance.

“Well it would be if they actually played the game.” Coran huffed and turned pleading eyes onto Keith. “We’re playing Monsters and Mana, or trying to at least. But this group can’t focus long enough without getting into trouble. It’s put the story at quite the stand-still.”

Keith’s eyes widened and a large grin broke out along his face. He barked a laugh, settling down beside Shiro. “Oh dang, Monsters and Mana? Well now I’ve got to join in.” He then asked to his teammates, “So? Who are your characters?”

Pidge was the first to enthusiastically proclaim, “I’m Meklavar! I’m the best ace-fighter Dwarf in the three realms!”

“I’m Block, the sorcerer.” Hunk said with a little wave.

Allura raised a hand and smiled, “My character is the mystical archer Valayun.”

Perking up in his seat, Lance proudly proclaimed, “And I’m Pike, the ninja assassin, a silent killer.”

This left Shiro as the only one left who had yet to introduce his character. He offered a small, almost shy smile, his cheeks turning a light pink. “My character is… Takashi Shirogane. H-he’s a Paladin.”

Keith’s grin turned absolutely feral and he chuckled. “Cute,” That got Shiro’s blush to grow more pronounced. Though thankfully instead of continuing to tease, Keith instead turned to Coran. “So you need help herding the new blood? I think I can manage.”

“I was hoping you might!” Coran then nodded his head to Lotor, “What say you? Care for a game?”

Lotor startled slightly at suddenly being addressed but he recovered just as quickly. “Ah… Sure? Though I hope you don’t mind me requesting a run-down on how to play.”

“But of course! I’ll help you along with anything you don’t understand. Now, characters! Let’s figure out who you’ll be!” Coran said as he handed out little data-cards to both Keith and Lotor.

Glancing down at his, Keith hummed for a moment before he tapped the device against his chin. “Coran, think I can bring ‘ _him_ ’ out of retirement?”

Coran looked surprised for a moment before his smile turned absolutely wicked. “Oh-ho! I like your thinking!! Lotor, come over here for a moment. Keith, you as well. We’ll have to set some limits if that’s the case.”

It took several minutes of hushed whispering between the three before Lotor and Keith moved back to their respective seats. Once he was sure everyone was ready, Coran cleared his throat and opened the Lore Master book. “It’s time we continue our heroes’ journey. Ahem! Our brave warriors, after surviving being trapped in that slug pit, manage to leave the swamp by the skin of their teeth. However as your party made it back onto the path, you all notice something happening further ahead…”

///

_“Unhand him!”_

_The yell caught the party’s attention, their heads snapping up to see pure chaos in front of them. It looked as if bandits were in the middle of a raid on a two-man caravan. Two of the bandits were pinning someone to the ground while the third held back a demure and frail-looking man._

_“Torvok!” The shorter man yelled, trying to claw his way out of the iron grip._

_“Oh no, they need help!” Valayun exclaimed as she began running towards the commotion with an arrow notched._

_The rest of her party were not far behind as they too readied for combat. The bandits noticed the oncoming attack only after an arrow struck the one holding the smaller man. The bandit let out a cry and promptly dropped his captive._

_The foe struck by the arrow only had a moment to yank it out before Pike appeared behind him in a puff of smoke. The assassin lashed out with a thin blade and stabbed the man in the throat. He let out a burbled choke before dropping to the ground in a heap. An item pouch then appeared floating over his body as an indication he was slain._

_Several feet away both Shiro and Meklavar were engaged with the last two bandits. With just a few strikes both party members were able to dispatch their foes in much the same fashion as Pike. Now that they were no longer fighting, the group could easily see who it was they were saving._

_The man who’d been pinned on the ground was tall and had lavender skin, twin scars running down his cheeks like tear stains. His hair was pure white and was cut short, his bangs held back by a strip of leather. The tunic he’s dressed in is a dark forest green and covered in numerous amount of rips and patches._

_The other man is slim and dainty, almost like a budding flower. He had long shimmering black hair that pooled down his waist in waves. On his shoulders was a short cape that cut off mid-thigh and beneath that were stunning robes that looked pristine and untouched by filth. His face was also quite beautiful, delicate-looking even to the untrained eye_.

///

“Wait hold on a minute. **That’s** Keith’s character?? Really? He’s a damsel in distress!”

Everyone, minus Lotor and Coran, was looking at Keith in near disbelief. The group all just figured he would’ve had a super buff macho character or something! Not a frail one that seemed like they could be knocked over by a stray breeze! **This** was the character he wanted to pull out of retirement?

Keith rolled his eyes in annoyance, “There’s a _reason_ why he’s like this!”

“Exactly! Now if we could get back to the game, maybe you’ll find out what’s up with Keith’s character!” Coran gave the group a pointed glare, smiling when he was met with no resistance. “Now, after the battle and seeing who you just saved…”

///

_The black-haired man collapsed onto his knees beside his companion and began furiously trying to untie the rope._

_“Here.”_

_He paused, looking at the little dagger offered to him by Pike. The man flinched, shying away from the weapon. He shook his head, “I-I can’t… I…”_

_“Roya, it’s fine.” The man, Torvok said as he sat up. Then with only a small amount of effort Trovok quite literally ripped through the ropes keeping him bound._

_“Holy shit!” Pike’s curse only got a side-eyed glance from Block and an unamused stare from Meklavar._

_The party watched as Torvok helped Roya stand, the two turning to look at the group. Roya bowed slightly, their smile genial. “Thank you for saving us. If you hadn’t been here we would’ve been in series trouble!_ ”

///

“Ok seriously!!! Hearing Keith do that voice is creepy!”

“Just shut up and play, Lance.”

“I mean I’m kinda with Lance on this one. Ah—no offence Keith.”

“How am I not meant to take offence?”

///

_“My name is Roya and this is my travelling companion, Torvok. We’re currently on our way to the Whispering Falls to search for a way to remove a curse.” Roya explained._

_“You’re traveling to the Whispering Falls without any weapons? Seriously? It’s no wonder you guys got ambushed! You don’t even have a horse!” Meklavar gestured to their upturned wagon._

_Roya suddenly looked upset, tears glistening in the corners of his eyes. “Oh, I know! But you see that’s the problem! Torvok cannot touch silver and I am under a terrible curse. One of the effects of the curse is that I cannot touch any kind of weapon!”_

_Pike opened his mouth to say something but clearly thought better of it. Instead he glanced towards Valayun and made a gesture for her to speak. Out of the entire party she was the one best at communicating with others._

_Heeding her companion’s silent prompting, the arcane archer speaking up. “Roya, Torvok, I’m sure it is quite difficult to make such a perilous journey without the ability to use weapons. Please, I extend an invitation on behalf of my party! Let us aid you in your quest!”_

_Shiro stepped forward and instantly drew eyes to him, “I agree. You’ll make much better progress if you have our help.”_

_Roya’s face lit up in joy and his were quickly wiped away. He then bowed, hands clasped to his chest. “Thank you so much! We are in your debt!”_

_And so the group began making their way down the path. The journey was made far easier thanks to a mount Valayun summoned and the wagon Roya and Torvok had been traveling in. As they rode with Block and Torvok sitting at the front of the wagon, the rest of the party settled in the back. There they began speaking to their newest additions. However most of the questions were directed at Roya since of the two only he seemed interested in talking._

_“So Roya,” Shiro began with a kind smile, “If you don’t mind me asking, what was it you did before you were cursed?”_

_“Oh! Um w-well I was a Maven of Monsters!”_

_“A Maven of Monsters? What’s that?”_

_Roya explained with a hesitant smile, “It means I was an expert on all kinds of monsters. Their weaknesses, their strengths. The best places to strike, and so on. However with my curse, my knowledge only benefits Torvok now…”_

_Meklavar paused in cleaning their axe so they could frown at the beautiful man. “How’d you get this curse on ya anyways?”_

_Roya sighed and stared off wistfully to the side, “It’s shameful, really. I’d been on a hunting party with Torvok and my father. We unintentionally stumbled into a witch’s lair and she unleashed a curse. I jumped in the way to defend my father and as a result…” Roya trailed off with a soft hiccup, covering his face as tears glimmered in his eyes. The sight was so heart-wrenchingly sad that Meklavar felt as if they hurt a small animal instead of asking a simple question._

_“Right…” Pike grimaced at the display, pointedly scooting away from the weeping man._

_Shiro, bless his heart, reached out to lay a comforting hand on Roya’s shoulder. The shorter man paused in his crying long enough to look up into the assuring gaze of the Paladin. “Worry not. We will break this curse you’re under!”_

_That caused a new wave of tears to spill from Roya’s eyes as he threw himself at a stunned Shiro, weeping against his chest. “Oh thank you! How could we ever begin to repay your kindness?”_

_“N-no thanks necessary!” Shiro patted Roya’s back in embarrassment but made no move to pull away._

_Valayun cleared her throat and pointedly averted her eyes from the display. She smiled, shifting to a kneeling position and leaning forward so she could catch Torvok’s eye from the front seat._

_“So, Torvok! You are unable to touch silver? Can I ask why that is?”_

_“Oh, I’m also interested. Is it like an allergy? An aversion? You also under a curse?” Block glanced at the man beside him before looking back to the road._

_Torvok remained silent for a long moment before he replied in a growly voice, “Allergy.”_

_Valayun’s smile turned strained at the monosyllabic answer. “I-I see. And have you had it your whole life?”_

_At this Torvok tensed and a distant look overtook his face. He absentmindedly raised a hand to touch one of the scars running down his cheek. “No. It started when I was a boy…”_

_Block pursed his lips and shared a glance with Valayun. “How mysterious.” The sorcerer muttered under his breath._

_The journey towards the Whispering Falls was a long one. By the time they reached the base of the mountain where the Falls were located, it was already night and the full moon shined over them like a beacon. The group decided as a collective that it would be best for them to rest for the night and continue the trek up the mountain tomorrow._

_While Block started a fire and Pike went with Valayun to go and forage for some food, the rest of the group began setting up sleeping mats for everyone. Shiro had offered his to Roya as he didn’t have one. The man was so grateful he showered more thanks onto the Paladin and caused him to blush even further._

_Over the crackling of fire, Meklavar’s sudden question had the group startling. “Hey, where you going?”_

_Torvok froze and locked eyes with Roya. Slowly the longhaired man nodded, “Be safe, Torvok. Don’t stray too far.”_

_Then to the surprise of everyone, Torvok bowed to Roya with a smile. “Of course. I’ll be quick.”_

_“Is he going to be ok?” Shiro asked as he stared after where Torvok had disappeared to._

_Roya nodded, bringing his legs up to his chest. “Yes, he’ll be fine. Torvok just gets a little stir-crazy at night. It’s better for him to wonder till he tires himself out.”_

_“I see…”_

_The two fell silent for a moment, simply basking in the warm glow of the fire and the gentle chatter happening between Meklavar and Block. A rather strong breeze passed through, causing a wave of shivers to go off. However for Shiro he was completely fine. The cloak he wore was dense and kept the cold from seeping in._

_At seeing Roya shaking, Shiro opened his cloak in offering to the slimmer male. “It’s cold out.”_

_Roya seemed startled by the gesture and the very obvious statement. But he smiled and scooted closer so Shiro could drape his cloak over both their shoulders. “Thank you.” Roya murmured with downcast eyes._

_Block glanced at the two and shared an unimpressed look with Meklavar. The dwarf returned the look and mimed gagging for a moment before they turned their attention back on their surroundings._

_It was several more minutes of silence before they spoke up, “Pike and Valayun are taking an awfully long time.”_

_“Maybe they got lost?” Though Block’s tone was hopeful it was clear he too was growing worried._

_Shiro frowned and glanced over his shoulder at the forest’s edge. “We should go and check up on them just to be sure.”_

_However just looking out into the forest chirping with crickets was unnerving. The moon should’ve helped illuminate their surroundings but the trees were so densely packed together that it was near impossible to make anything out._

_Meklavar searched their little campsite for a moment before grabbing a relatively long stick and sticking it into the campfire. When it began burning they pulled it out and stomped towards the woods._

_“I’m going to go look for them. I don’t like this.”_

_“I’ll go with you.”_

_Shiro and Roya watched Block and Meklavar disappear past the trees. Roya cupped his hands around his mouth and called after them, “We’ll wait here in case they come back!” Despite saying this his body jerked slightly as if he wanted to follow them. Roya frowned, crossing his arms over his chest and looking down._

_Shiro studied him for a moment and watched how Roya’s expression shifted from upset to happy. It was almost like a switch had been forcefully flipped. This pegged Shiro as odd and he felt like he should inquire about it._

_“Roya, can I ask you about your curse?”_

_Roya turned large, violet eyes up to Shiro. They were practically brimming with naïve innocence as they looked up at the Paladin. “Yes? What is it?”_

_Biting his lip, Shiro raised a hand to rub the back of his neck. “Is the only part of the curse that you’re not able to wield a weapon?”_

_“Oh, no. That’s not the only thing.” Roya said with a chuckle, “Actually the curse makes it so that I act—.”_

_He was interrupted by a series of screams coming from the woods. Instantly both Shiro and Roya were leaping to their feet. Shiro took Roya by the hand and together they were sprinting into the woods to track down what had made that noise. As they journeyed deeper they could hear the distinct sounds of battle off in the distance._

_The two broke through the trees into a large clearing. From the edge they could spot a lake were a hideous monster was half-emerged. It looked like a bear with the head of a fish and the tail of a lizard. The creature towered at least 20 feet, maybe more. With powerful roars it swatted its paws down and barely missed smashing into an injured Pike. Thankfully a strong spell from Block was able to knock the paw off trajectory and miss flattening the ninja._

_“Stay here!” Shiro ordered as he drew his sword._

_“Wait!!” Roya grabbed Shiro’s arm, halting him from rushing forward. “It’s a Bass Bear. Aim for its gills, that’s its weak point. Whatever you do, **avoid** the tail!” _

_Shiro looked at the Bass Bear, noticing the slits along its neck. While it wasn’t going to be an easy target, the Paladin knew he’s faced worse. He nodded at Roya before turning and rushing into battle._

_“Shiro! Thank God you’re here!!” Meklavar exclaimed as they helped drag Pike a bit further up the bank. “This thing is insane!”_

_“I can tell!” He paused, chancing a quick glance around. “Where’s Valayun?”_

_“She’s shooting from the tree.” Pike coughed, wiping blood from his mouth._

_As if to confirm his statement an arrow whizzed from high in the trees, hitting Pike in the shoulder and covering his body in a healing light. Instantly he perked up, his injuries disappearing and leaving him reinvigorated. He leapt up the moment the arrow disappeared and began shaking out his limbs._

_“Alright! Time for my second wind!”_

_Shiro chuckled before he joined in the fray, making sure to yell for the team to aim for its gills. It was difficult for them to land a hit on the monster’s weak point from this distance. For Shiro, Pike, and Meklavar, they had to get closer just to try and do some damage. However that left them open for retaliation from the Bass Bear._

_Block and Valayun’s magic weren’t doing much damage either. Whatever spell Block threw out at the monster hurt it for a moment but then the lake it was standing in would glow and seemingly dispel whatever magic Block had done. As for Valayun’s arrows she couldn’t get a clear shot at its gills with how much if was swinging at the others. So she ended up focusing on healing the team if they got too injured. However she was gradually running out of healing arrows and at this rate their survival chances weren’t looking too great._

_Suddenly the Bass Bear roared and spun. Its long lizard tail whipped out and aimed straight for Shiro. In the next second several things happened at once. Shiro registered someone yelling his name and then he was being pushed out of the way. He turned just in time to see Roya standing there, eyes wide in fright as the Bass Bear’s tail wrapped around his waist. Roya was then yanked off the bank and dragged beneath the lake with a cut-off cry._

_“Roya!!!”_

_“Oh no!”_

_Shiro froze, staring at where Roya had disappeared from and trying desperately to comprehend what just happened. Roya had saved him. He **sacrificed** himself for Shiro._

_“Look out!”_

_That was the only warning Shiro got before he was being smacked to the side by a massive paw. He lost his weapon somewhere in the tumble and his health was running dangerously low when he finally rolled to a stop. Valayun dropped from her tree and ran to his side, pulling out a healing arrow and piercing Shiro with it. As his injuries began healing she helped him to a sitting position._

_“That was my last healing arrow. We can’t keep fighting!”_

_He grit his teeth, hands clenching in frustration. “But Roya—!” Shiro cut himself off and could only look up at Valayun helplessly._

_Eyes brimming in sorrow she bowed her head and held him close. “I’m sorry Shiro, he’s gone…”_

_Their moment of brief sadness was cut off by Block’s dramatic exclamation of “What’s that?!”_

_They looked up and watched with wide-eyes as the lake glowed much the same way it did when the Bass Bear was hit with magic. The monster suddenly jolted and let out a roar of pain, its tail lifting from the water and flinging something onto the bank._

_The wet lump of a person rolled for only a bit before they somehow managed to flip themselves onto all fours. They skidded in the dirt, teeth bared in a vicious snarl. The animalistic display was only heightened by their short wild hair and the swirling red markings running along their sculpted body. They were only wearing a pair of breaches so their muscular torso and markings were on full display. However despite the stark difference in appearance there was no denying who this was._

_“R-Roya?!”_

_Pike’s startled exclamation didn’t get the man’s attention. He was too focused on glaring holes at the creature who tried to drown him. The changed man raised a hand and brought it to his mouth. A sharp whistle broke out through the clearing and had the monster clutching at its head and bellowing in discomfort._

_When the shrill noised died it was as if the forest went silent with it. Then there was the rhythmic thundering of something hitting the ground. It grew closer with each second. Whatever it was it sounded big and it was moving **fast**._

_“What is that?” Valayun asked as she and the others turned to the trees._

_There was a moment where it seemed the world held its breath. Then something large was bursting through the trees, one of the ancient oaks snapping from the force of the new creature’s bulk. Now standing on the bank with no trees to shield it from the moon’s light, the party could make out what the creature looked like._

_It was, to put it bluntly, massive. The creature was no doubt bigger than a horse and was packed with muscle. It had an arching spine and huge front paws, the back paws somewhat demure in comparison. The monster was covered in dark purple fur, a fluffy long tail lashing behind it in a similar shade. Running from the top of its head and down its spine was thicker fur of a darker shade that almost bordered on black._

_It turned towards Roya, feline face scrunched as a deep growl reverberated in its throat. The moment it shot towards the man everyone gasped and lurched forward as if they wanted to prevent the oncoming attack._

_“Roya look out!”_

_“Dodge man!”_

_However he did nothing to avoid the creature. Instead he tensed his body in preparation. Then something unexpected happened. The large beast shifted and instead of running at Roya it instead ran just past him. Roya reached out, snagging a hand in its fur and yanking himself onto its back all in a swift second._

_Everyone watched in awe as Roya road the beast towards Shiro’s broadsword and bent over to snag it from the dirt. He held it with one hand, muscles tensing from the weight. Shiro was left stunned, his eyes the size of saucers. He had to wield that thing with **two** hands! But wait that wasn’t the most shocking thing!_

_“He can use weapons now?! Since when!!” Meklavar yelled from where they stood beside Block._

_“And when the heck did he get a mount?” Pike added._

_Their questions, of course, received no answer. Instead they watched with bated breath as the feline monster jumped at the Bass Bear. It roared, aiming to swat the feline out of the air and missing just barely. The smaller beast landed on its chest and instantly dug its claws in to cling to the monster. The Bass Bear roared in both anger and pain, the sound turning shrill when large fangs pierced into its neck. But that wasn’t the only attack unleashed upon it._

_With a mighty cry Roya raised the broadsword and plunged it right into the creature’s throat just above where his mount was attacking. The Bass Bear screeched, entire body thrashing before Roya ripped the sword from the monster’s throat. The Bass Bear’s noises turned into wet gurgling, blood spraying from the wound and splattering Roya and his mount in gore._

_The Bass Bear started to tip backwards towards the lake, its eyes growing glassy from death. Roya and the feline beast leapt back onto the bank just in time to avoid being submerged with it. Then with a pop a hefty baggy appeared in front of Roya, loot from the slain monster._

_He grinned devilishly, tossing the bag up before catching it. Roya then twirled Shiro’s sword and lifted it to rest over his shoulders. “Not bad. Unexpected but I’ll take it.”_

_The two of them glanced up at their stunned audience, Roya’s smirk growing even wider. He set the bag in front of him on the cat monster’s back before jabbing a thumb over his shoulder at the lake quickly turning red. “Hope you don’t mind we stole the kill.”_

_That snapped everyone from their stupor and they waste no time rushing over. Though they kept a bit of a distance out of weary fear for the creature Roya was still riding and the fact they both reeked of monster blood. However Roya either didn’t seem to notice or care that he was spattered in carnage. He simply slipped off his mount and tossed the bloody baggy towards Block before walking over to Shiro and handing him his sword._

_“Thanks for this. Sorry ‘bout the mess.” He said with a tone that was the furthest thing from apologetic as one could get._

_Shiro blinked dumbly for a moment before he stuttered out a thank you and took the sword. As he was sheathing it he froze, suddenly realizing that this raised a whole lot of questions. “Wait. So you’re not cursed anymore?”_

_“No, I am.”_

_“Then why do you look different?” Meklavar asked as they gestured to Roya._

_“This is what I really look like. I turn back to how I truly am only in near death situations. Any other time the curse makes me look and act the opposite of who I really am.”_

_“So a frail, delicate pacifist with an aversion to fighting?”_

_“Yep.”_

_“ **Ahem!!** ” Pike loudly cleared his throat and gestured furiously to the cat monster that was languidly cleaning its face with a paw. “It’s great you slayed the monster and all, but is no one going to ask what the heck this is?! Where did it come from?? How did you call it?!”_

_Roya quirked a brow and glanced at the creature for a moment before he looked at the group in confusion. “What are you talking about? You all know who this is. It’s Torvok.”_

_“ **What?!** ” Came the collective yell._

_With a sigh Roya sent the purple animal a glare, “Come on.”_

_The party watched as the creature rolled its eyes, flexing the humanoid digits of its paw before pushing up off the ground. When it stood on all fours it was tall. But on two legs? Devastatingly huge. It towered over the party and somehow managed to get across that smug indifference in a way only cats could._

_“Roya speaks the truth,” The creature—Torvok, said. His whiskers twitched and he crossed his bulky arms over his chest. “I’m a Werecat.”_

_Block suddenly gasped and dropped his fist into his palm. “Oh man, that explains the allergy to silver!”_

_“And being restless at night.” Meklavar paused before looking up at the sky, “Huh. It’s also a full moon too. Guess the answers were staring us right in the face.”_

_“Indeed.” Torvok then glanced to Roya, “And how are you, your highness? Any lingering effects from near dying?”_

_“I’m fine. Though let’s head back to the camp. Something’s bound to be attracted to the smell of blood and I don’t want to be out here in the open when it comes.” Roya said with a growl and a roll of his shoulders._

_“Hold on a minute. ‘ **Highness** ’?? You’re royalty?” Pike looked at Torvok and Roya in bewilderment, “Who the heck are you people?!”_

_Roya glanced to Torvok before he looked at the party and flashed them a feral smirk. “I’m Prince Roya of the Southern Gulch. This is Torvok, my second in command.”_

_Block’s eyes widened and he stuck out a finger towards the two, “The Southern Gulch?! No way! That place is home to the most bloodthirsty group of barbarians all across the three realms! You mean to say **you’re** their Prince?!”_

_“The one and only.” Roya cocked his head to the side and placed a bloodied hand on his hip. “Consider yourselves lucky you have me as an ally. And as a bonus if you help me break this curse, I’m willing to extend a helping hand whenever you may need it.”_

_Roya’s expression suddenly turned pinched and his stance faltered for a moment as a black curse mark appeared against his chest. It flared purple for a moment before his form began to change like a shimmering pool. In the next breath the one standing before them was the delicate looking Roya and not the blood spattered barbarian Prince._

_He gave the group a gentle smile brimming with hope, “So? Will you please help me?”_

///

“And we’re going to leave today’s game here!” Coran said, cackling in delight at the sudden noise of protest that rose up.

“Hold on dude we can’t end there!! Not after that big of a reveal!”

“Oh man Lotor’s character is a Werecat. That’s so awesome.” Hunk whistled, flashing the Prince a grin. “Also cool of you to come crashing in to bite the Bass Bear’s throat! Messy—but cool!”

Lotor chuckled at the compliment and looked down at his little information card. “Yes well Torvok’s teeth and claws do quite a lot of damage, especially with the strength behind it.”

Keith leaned back in his chair and regarded the group smugly, “Still think my character is boring now?”

The compliments thrown his way only had the Altean grinning wider. Pidge leaned forward, adjusting her glasses with eyes wide in interest. “You said Roya was retired. Why’s that?”

“The last I played him, his journey had finished.” Keith said with a shrug, “He avenged his sister’s death and finally felt some semblance of peace. That and it was around the time Alfor was setting off to find Oriande. So there wasn’t really time for me to join in on the games. But I figured it’d be fun to bring him back, especially when you guys end up needing the man power.”

“Of course because Roya is a higher level then you all he needs this curse.” Coran said with a mischievous smile, “Otherwise he’ll take out every single monster I throw at you all! You’re going to need to work for it if you want to utilize the golden ace on your team!”

With a small grin Shiro turned to look at the others, “Well then I guess we’re going to be breaking that curse, huh?”

“Hell yeah!!”

“I’m all for it.”

“I’ll admit seeing the real Roya piqued my interest! I’d like to learn more about this curse and how it affects him. I feel it would be a great thing to explore, especially given the glimpse we’ve seen on how he really acts. Surely this curse is pure torture for him!” Allura spoke with clear excitement lighting up her face.

The enthusiastic chattering rose in volume and was only cut off by the sound of a communicator beeping. The team paused, looking to Keith as he pulled it from his pocket. “My bad, my bad.”

When he answered the screen changed and Kolivan appeared, his usual glower in place. “ _Kit._ ”

“Uncle, what’s up?”

“ _We need you to report to the Blade’s base in the Nexilon star system. Sooner rather than later._ ”

Kolivan’s tone instantly had the team on edge. Keith swallowed, nodding his head. “I’ll be there in five.” He hung up the device and slipped it back into his pocket. Then he quirked a small, apologetic smile. “Looks like we’ll have to put a pause on Monsters and Mana.”

“Don’t worry about it, Keith. Whatever mission the Blades have for you is more important.” Shiro reached out to rest a hand on Keith’s shoulder. He offered him an assuring smile and a small squeeze to go with it.

Lance, from where he sat, gave a dramatic sigh. “Look at you, going off on a big bad Blade mission and leaving us behind!”

“Yorak, do be sure to keep us updated if you can.” Allura added with a worried smile.

“Don’t die again.” Pidge’s bland tone turned into a whine of protest when Hunk slapped a hand over her mouth.

“She didn’t mean that!”

Keith visibly rolled his eyes and pulled himself out of his chair. “Come on guys, at most I’ll be gone for a week—maybe two.” He said as he made his way over towards the lounge door.

“Keith,” Shiro’s soft call had the other pausing. He turned, glancing back at the Black Paladin. Shiro gave him a smile solely reserved for Keith. One of the small ones that always managed to make the Altean’s insides feel all warm and gooey. “Come back safe.”

With a returning smile Keith nodded, “I will.”

And with that he was disappearing through the doors and leaving his team behind. But it was alright, they weren’t too worried. In a week or so he’d return like he said and everything would go back to normal. They’d fight to liberate planets, train, and bond like usual.

Yet if only they could glimpse into the future like Keith. Then maybe they would have known that it wasn’t going to be that simple. That after one week Keith would not return. Nor would he return after two.

No.

It would be nearly three whole months before they heard from Keith again.


	15. Into the Abyss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith reunites with Krolia after so many years of being apart. Together the two follow a strange quintessence signature Krolia had found, unaware of how long this journey will take.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Oh man am I excited for this chapter! I feel like I've been saying that every chapter but eh whatever. Everything I had planned is finally coming to fruition and I'm happy :> I won't lie that there's plenty of hints in this chapter that show it's canon divergent. So when you reach the end please keep that in mind~ Other than that I don't have much to say for this chapter! I know surprising! Oh well! See y'all next week~

Keith manipulated his stolen Galra fighter onto the planet and somehow managed to land without anyone being sent out to inspect where he landed. Running off this luck, Keith wasted no time booking it from the dunes he’d landed in and sprinting along the sandy terrain towards the Galra base. 

Slipping inside was almost too easy. Though this was probably because Keith had plenty of experience under his belt sneaking into heavily fortified bases. Not just from his time at the Garrison, but before that as well.

The Altean was on an extraction mission given to him personally by Kolivan. At first Keith had been confused as to why he’d been assigned this mission and not an actual Blade member, but both his uncles quickly shot that thought process down the moment he voiced it. To every Marmora member, Keith was already one of them. So what he couldn’t get his own luxite blade? That didn’t matter to them. The moment Krolia adopted him and trained him in their ways, he became one of them.

That entire moment had been extremely touching and Keith still felt his chest squeeze with warmth whenever he thought about it. But something about Kolivan’s wording before he left struck Keith as odd.

“ _This is a mission only you can do_.”

What the heck did that mean? The fact he only had the bare amount of information for the mission didn’t help. Sure Kolivan gave him the base’s layout and a brief rundown on the fact he was meant to extract an undercover member, but that was it. When Keith asked about who the Blade operative was all he got in return was a stoic ‘ _you’ll know them when you see them’_. Talk about fucking cryptic. There wasn’t exactly that many Blades Keith knew. Hell the ones he knew personally he could count on one hand! Maybe two if he felt generous!

Suddenly Keith froze, pausing in his task of cutting an opening in the base’s roof.

No way. Keith wasn’t going to be extracting her… Was he? It’d make sense after all. Kolivan’s mysterious phrasing and the way Antok seemed almost restless? There was no way it **couldn’t** be her!

Keith held his breath and began cutting into the roof with renewed vigor. In a few short moments he was able to pop open the hole and peek down to see if the coast was clear. After several moments of just waiting in heavy silence Keith finally pushed aside the entrance and dropped down. 

If Krolia really was here then Keith should be able to sense her quintessence signature. Surely it hasn’t been too long for him to forget what it felt like, right? Keith could only hope.

He took a moment to regulate his breathing before slinking to a dark corner and stretching out his senses. Keith could feel the quintessence of nearby Galra but not the one he was searching for. He bit back a huff before pushing onwards. If Krolia really was here then she was most likely somewhere deep in the base. 

Keith slipped past patrolling sentries, ducking behind pillars and even having to climb into an air duct at one point. He shimmied his way through the base and only paused twice to check his location on the holo-map and also to see if he could sense Krolia. 

As Keith got deeper and deeper into the base a sliver of doubt began to worm its way into his heart. Was she even really here? What if Kolivan sent him to the wrong base? Or what if he actually meant that the Galra Keith was extracting was someone else he knew? But the only undercover operatives he knew were Thace and Ulaz. And those two had their covers blown for quite a while now. There was no way they could come back into the Galra and gain ranks without someone pointing out they were traitors. 

Just when Keith was wondering if maybe he actually got the base wrong he finally felt it. It was like a soft tickle against the edge of his senses. A puff of breathe easy to miss. But the moment Keith registered what it was he latched onto it like a starving wolf.

Keith instantly changed trajectory and used the vent for cover as he headed in the direction he sensed Krolia. It took plenty of shuffling and some breaks for a quick breath before Keith managed to shorten the distance. However Krolia seemed to be moving in the opposite direction as Keith. If he wanted to catch up to her and get out of here quick, then he was going to need to leave the vents.

Once again Keith was waiting for an opening in the sentry patrol before he popped open the vent grate and dropped to the ground. On silent feet he sprinted down the hall and wove his way through the shadows, slowly closing the distance between himself and his adoptive mother.

How was he to act when he ran into her? Pretend he’s taking her prisoner? Or just lead her to where he snuck in from and the two of them going from there? But the better question would probably be how does he act afterwards? It’s been roughly 16 deca-phoebs since Krolia left Earth. At the time Keith was 7 and though he’d only known Krolia for three deca-phoebs, in that short amount of time he’d grown impossibly attached to her. Even now Keith adored her, so why was he suddenly feeling uneasy? Perhaps somewhere deep inside him he worried that Krolia had forgotten about him and Tex. That she had stopped loving them after being gone for so long. 

Was it a stupid thought? For sure. Keith knew how devoted and loyal Galra could be when they loved someone. But still, Keith’s head didn’t feel like being rational. Apparently right now it felt like voicing every single insecurity Keith could conjure up. 

The sudden sound of a blaster powering up directly against the side of his head had Keith freezing. He bit back a curse, damning himself for getting lost in his own head at such a serious time.

“ **Had I been an enemy, you would’ve been dead**.”

The familiar voice had Keith freezing for an entirely different reason. He slowly turned his masked face and felt his breath hitch inaudibly. Standing right next to him looking exactly like he remembered was Krolia. She was dressed like a Galran commander and was glaring down at him in annoyance. 

“ **Are you new? Only a fool would get distracted this deep in enemy territory.** ” 

Despite the fact Krolia was insulting Keith’s skills, he couldn’t find himself to care. Honestly he couldn’t even find his voice with how overwhelmed and choked up he was getting. Keith never really thought he’d be able to see his mother after so long. He figured it’d be near the end of the war that they were finally reunited. Keith was so overcome with all kinds of feelings that for a split second he wanted to launch himself at Krolia in a hug. However he knew that’d sooner get his arm either dislocated or broken—maybe both— so he simply dipped his head in deference.

“ _ **Apologies.**_ ” Keith finally managed to squeeze out.

Krolia seemed unimpressed as she powered down her blaster and holstered her weapon. “ **Whatever. You’re here now so let’s go. The moment you breached the atmosphere I knew you were here. I had to stage a power outage just to prevent others from noticing your presence. How reckless are you to try and bring an unregistered Galra fighter to a Galra base?** ”

Keith choose wisely not to respond. He figured he shouldn’t be disappointed that Krolia didn’t seem to recognize him. The last she heard Keith his voice was a squeaky childish mess. Of course she wouldn’t recognize the sound of a fully-grown Keith. Still a small part of him did hope she would… But Keith knew the Blade mask altered the voice and to top that off it masked his scent. So there really was no way Krolia would realize it was him unless those obstructions were removed. Either that or Keith could show her, her blade. Hm… Now that was an idea.

Grin hidden behind his mask, Keith began leading Krolia back the way they came. When he gestured to the vent he’d traveled in she gave him a very unimpressed look and effectively shut down that path with only a short ‘ **no** ’. It wasn’t _Keith’s_ fault Krolia was bigger than him! Galra’s were just built differently than Alteans.

It took longer for them to return to the hole Keith made since they had to go on numerous detours just to avoid sentries. Along the way they stopped at a storage room containing spare uniforms and other such things. Krolia picked up a spare helmet since they had no time to return to her quarters and grab her actual helmet. Either way it still worked for her uniform so she didn’t care too much. That was Keith’s mother, ever the practical Galra.

Krolia glared up at the hole from beneath her mask, clearly wanting to say something about it but deciding not to. She most likely figured there’d be no point in criticizing him. For what reason that could be, Keith couldn’t say. Whatever the reason he didn’t take the previous jabs at his skills to heart. If anything he felt elated every time she clicked her tongue in clear displeasure. It reminded him too much of their time on Earth and Keith was craving any kind of attention from his mom that he could get.

It was Keith that was boosted up to the gap first, the Altean reaching down to catch Krolia’s hand and pull her up after him. Then together the two took off across the planet and back to the ship Keith had stolen for this mission. 

Just before boarding Krolia stopped at the ship’s ramp and pulled out a detonator. With a press of the button a series of explosions lit up one side of the base and had the alarms blaring to life.

“ _ **That should put the base into lockdown while they figure out what happened. We can use this chance to escape.**_ ” Krolia said with brutal efficiency. Keith was left standing outside for a moment before he was scrambling up after her. By the stars his mom was so cool.

///

The flight off and away from the planet was a quiet one. Neither Keith nor Krolia tried to break the silence for their own reasons. Keith because it was taking every ounce of effort to focus on flying the ship and not vibrate in his seat from excitement. Krolia, from what Keith could tell, was because she was the aloof type. She put herself at a distance from those she didn’t know and didn’t trust. Funny, Keith knew he picked that up from somewhere.

Only when they were finally several lightyears away and not at the risk of being followed did Keith push himself away from the controls. Krolia spared him a glance from where she stood leaning against the ship’s wall. She quirked a brow as Keith moved to stand in front of her.

He chewed on his lip for a moment before reaching behind him. It was now or never. “ _ **Here, I think this belongs to you.**_ ”

Krolia’s frosty stare turned into one of confusion. She looked down at the luxite blade Keith presented to her. It was clear the moment she recognized it as her breath hitched and her eyes snapped up to stare at Keith’s mask with so much force it was like she was trying to melt it off.

“ **How—What**?”

Keith reached up with his free hand and pushed back his hood. With a quick inhale to bolster his courage Keith allowed his mask to deactivate. He watched as Krolia’s eyes grew even wider and he found himself smiling slightly at her stricken look. 

“Hey mom…”

Krolia instantly shifted from her disinterested posture. She hunched slightly over Keith, looking down at the man her son has grown into. The last she saw of him he was only just reaching mid-thigh. But now he had grown to be level with her collarbone. Keith was no longer her small little Altean.

“Keith…” Krolia instantly fell back to speaking English, the Earth words sounding rusty on her tongue. She reached up towards Keith’s face, eyes glistening.

Instead of the comforting touch Keith expected, in its place he received a shock of pain the moment Krolia cuffed him in the back of the head.

“Ow!”

“What were you thinking?! I thought you were just a Blade on his first extraction mission! Landing on a Galra base without even trying to hide your presence, cutting a hole into the ceiling where anyone with brains could look up and notice the new skylight, leaving the grates off their vents after entering and exiting them, and to top it off getting lost in thought long enough for someone to catch you by surprise! Has it really been so long that you just forgot everything I taught you?!” Krolia yelled with no hesitance, cuffing Keith on the back of the head once again to emphasize her point.

“Ok! I get it, I get it! I was sloppy!” Keith winced, using his hands to cover his head and prevent himself from being smacked again.

However when no more hits came forth and Krolia didn’t continue yelling, Keith finally allowed himself to peek up and gauge her reaction. He only had a moment to register the way Krolia’s face pinched with tears before he was being dragged into a crushing hug. 

Krolia clung to him, one arm wrapped tight around his shoulders and the other cradling his head. She tucked his head beneath her chin and held him with trembling hands. Krolia buried her nose in Keith’s hair and inhaled the scent she only recalled in memories. 

Keith was stunned for only a moment before he was returning the hug with just as much desperation. He closed his eyes and simply clung to Krolia like he was four again and she was fishing him out of White’s cockpit. 

“Oh Keith,” Krolia pulled back so she could hold Keith’s face. “Look at you. My small Kit’s all grown up…”

Keith never knew Krolia to cry. She was a strong individual and rarely let her emotions affect her. But perhaps in this one moment after reuniting with her Kit she allowed herself to be vulnerable. And Keith wouldn’t fault her for that. Not now, not ever.

“Not so small anymore.” Keith sniffed, cracking a watery smile as he reached up to lay his hands over hers. 

She gave a small snort and returned the smile. “You’ll always be small to me, Kit.” 

Keith merely grunted and allowed himself a moment to bask in the affectionate kiss Krolia placed to his forehead. Then she was pulling back so she could hold him at arm’s length and finally get a better look at her son.

“Your hair’s grown,” She said, pointedly tugging at his braid. “And so have you. Though as for your skills it’s hard to say.”

Keith rolled his eyes despite his grin, “Are you really going to keep holding that over me? What’d you expect! Kolivan didn’t bother to tell me who it was I’d be picking up. He just said ‘ _I’ll know them when I see them_ ’. And when I realized it would be you? I was too excited to be extra careful.”

His mother clicked her tongue and crossed her arms over her chest. “That’s no excuse. What would you have done if it wasn’t me who found you? How did you plan on getting us out of there if you tripped the alarms?”

Keith fought hard not to pout at that and didn’t even realize he’d hung his head like a child being scolded. Nearly 16 deca-phoebs apart but Krolia could still fall back into the role of mother without a second thought.

“I would’ve figured something out. I’m good at improvising.”

“About as good as your father.” Which was the harshest insult Krolia could ever give. Though her smirk clearly showed she meant it in good fun. Then her smile turned softer, brows furrowing. “How… How is he?”

Keith deflated slightly with a sigh and reached up to rub the back of his neck. “Well… Its been a few phoebs since I left Earth to join the fight. But he promised to play it safe, so we’ll just have to see.”

“Hmm.” Krolia was clearly displeased with the uncertainty of it all but there wasn’t exactly much either of them could do. She nodded before moving past Keith and taking up the fighter’s controls. “Well strap in, we’ve got a long flight ahead of us.”

“Where are we going?”

“The base I was in control of actually belongs to a Galra by the name of Ranveig. However he’s currently on an expedition and left me in charge. During my time working for him, we discovered an unmarked transport traveling through his territory.” Krolia spoke as she began flipping switches and pressing buttons. The console beeped as she entered coordinates into its system. “I personally went to investigate and though I found no life onboard, I did pick up readings of an extremely pure quintessence clinging to the ship. It was the highest readings I ever saw. Of course I hid this from Ranveig in case he wanted to track the source, but I did do a quick radiation scan just in case I might need to figure out where it came from.”

Keith’s expression grew thoughtful as he slipped Krolia’s blade back into its sheath. “My guess is you found it?”

“You’d be correct.”

“So we’re going to ignore Kolivan’s order of returning to base after extraction just to go and find whatever is making the quintessence? You sure that’s wise? What about backup?”

Krolia shot him a look over her shoulder, “I have you and you have me. What further backup do we need?”

The Altean grinned as he leaned against the wall much like Krolia had earlier. “And you criticize me for being reckless.” Despite Keith’s soft huff of laughter he still pulled out his communicator. “At the very least I’m going to let them know we’re taking a detour. Last time I disappeared without a word they all threw a fit.” 

If you could even call it that. Let’s just say Keith wasn’t interested in getting another spine-crushing hug from his uncles anytime soon. Sure his Altean body was built to withstand all kinds of force, but the hugs his uncles gave him were pushing even his limits.

“You disappeared before?”

“It’s a long story,” Keith said absentmindedly as he finished typing away the message and sending it.

Krolia cracked a small smile as she navigated them through the stars. “Well… We’ve got plenty of time to catch up.”

And from what the coordinates indicated Krolia was right. Their destination was quite far. So with a small sigh Keith settled himself on the floor and began telling his mother everything that has happened in the 16 deca-phoebs since she left.

///

“ _Put on your helmet, we’re close._ ”

Krolia didn’t even need to announce that since just looking at the colossal celestial bodies spread out in front of them was as much of an indicator as any. Still Keith complied and activated his helmet, reaching back to also pull up his hood. 

He watched as Krolia gradually brought the fighter closer towards the abyss with as much caution as she could manage. “ _Stay alert_.” He said with a hand clutching the back of her chair. “ _We don’t know what’s in here._ ”

Krolia merely hummed in acknowledgement before she was following the path she put into the ship’s navigation system. Apparently when she was able to, Krolia would send out probes to the Quantum Abyss. Though they were all destroyed in the end she was still able to record the path the furthest ones took. 

“ _What’s that?_ ”

Beneath her helmet Krolia’s eyes darted from the path she was following to what Keith was pointing at. Floating beside their ship was a white creature with one large eye in the center of its body. The unknown creature suddenly looked her way and the two locked eyes. The tendrils making up its body instantly sharpened and it launched itself at the fighter.

The two were knocked to the side as the sheer size of the creature tipped one of their wings. Krolia cursed as alarms flared to life and a small screen began projecting the areas of the fighter currently being attacked. She grabbed onto the controls and shot the ship forward in the hopes to knock them loose.

As they sped further into the abyss there was a flash of white light behind them. Keith, having steadied himself after the initial attack, whipped around in time to see one of those creatures manifest inside the ship. 

“ _Quiznak!_ ” He cursed, reaching past the chair to snatch Krolia’s blaster and spin around just as the creature launched itself from the back of the ship. It screeched, sharp limbs outstretched only to explode a second later with a single shot from Keith.

Krolia, though worried for her Kit, didn’t have time to inquire what just happened. She was too busy trying to fly them along the path while also shaking off their unwanted guests. 

The entire ship jolted as one of those creatures slammed onto the ship’s front. It clung to them and smashed its body with enough force to crack the window. Krolia cursed, eyes darting in a panic as she read the ship’s readings. Thrusters down, stabilizers barely clinging. All this added weight has thrown them off course and now they were being dragged into the Quantum Abyss like a speeding bullet.

Krolia leapt from her seat, grabbing her son’s arm and yanking him towards the ship’s door without a second’s thought. The moment the doors opened they were promptly sucked out into space and sent hurtling from where the ship was heading. As the two steadied themselves with their jetpacks, they watched as the ship seemed to stretch out before disappearing on the horizon. The only indication of its fate was the puff of an explosion that was quickly wiped away.

“ _What were those things?_ ” Keith was left panting as the adrenaline began leaving his system.

“ _I don’t know, but they’re gone now_.”

“ _Yeah, and so is our ship_.” He frowned beneath his mask and took out his communicator. The thing wouldn’t respond even after he tried to turn it on multiple times. “ _This entire zone is messing with my communicator. We’re effectively stranded. I could call White though._ ”

“ _Let’s hold off on summoning your Lion. We don’t know if those things will try and attack it once more. For now let’s just continue on foot._ ” Krolia said before leaping forward with a boost from her pack. “ _As long as we stay within the borders of the space-time drop-offs, we should be safe._ ”

Keith bit back a sigh as he was given no choice but to follow. “ _Got it._ ”

The two leapt from asteroid chunk to asteroid chunk, Krolia in the lead and Keith following exactly one step behind. After what seemed like an entire varga of leaping about the two stopped on a larger piece of rock to catch their breath. However their moment of peace was cut short by a rumbling they felt through their feet that rattled their bones.

Both Keith and Krolia froze, the two looking around to try and locate the source. “ _What’s going on_?” They looked towards the center of the abyss where a golden light glimmered for a split moment. Then with a blast they could feel even from this distance, the light expanded till it was engulfing everything in its wake.

The two of them grunted from the pressure they could feel building before them. They had no clue what was happening but it didn’t look like anything good. Suddenly Keith gasped, collapsing as he clutched his head in pain. As the blinding light drew closer his senses were suddenly overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of quintessence approaching them. It was agonizing to feel. Like every nerve he had set on fire and prickling beneath his skin with no reprieve.

Krolia only had a moment to see Keith collapse before she was rushing forward and grabbing him. She had no clue what this thing was but that didn’t matter. Whatever it was she would use her body to protect her Kit. That was Krolia’s last thought before the light swallowed them up and drowned out their sight.

When Keith opened his eyes after the pain subsided he noticed a few things. One was the fact he was out of his Blade uniform, the second was that he was sitting in an empty white space with nothing in sight for miles, and the third was the fact Krolia was nowhere to be seen.

“Mom?!” Keith scrambled to stand, eyes darting around in the hopes to try and find her. 

However whatever answer Keith expected to hear, it wasn’t the sound of a child crying. He froze for a moment before slowly turning around. Behind him the air shimmered and a vision gradually took form. It was of a small, 5 deca-phoeb old Keith wearing those tacky Earth clothes. He was covered in cuts and scrapes, blue blood coating parts of his arms and legs and even speckled on his clothes.

He was sitting on the ground at the bottom of what looked like a dark and small cave. The only light casting into the tunnel was from the ceiling. Keith didn’t need to glance up to know that it was too far for his younger self to reach.

The young Keith was crying from pain and panic, wailing in Altean for someone to find him. His words came out garbled through the tears and from how raw and hoarse his voice was, Keith knew he’d been yelling for a while.

He remembered this. 

How could he not? 

When Keith was still getting used to life on Earth he’d been a brat. He refused to listen to either Tex or Krolia and would go off on his own to explore and do what he wanted. Yet when exploring a mineshaft one day he had tripped and fallen down a hole. It was too steep for Keith to climb and trying to summon White to dig him out would’ve probably resulted in a cave-in. So Keith was stuck there alone, scared, hungry, and in pain. 

He remembered sitting down there for vargas wondering if Tex and Krolia were worried. Did they care he was gone? Would they come looking for him? Or were they glad that he’d disappeared. That he was no longer a burden on them and that they could finally return to a life where it was just the two of them. Those thoughts had hurt Keith more than the fall had. 

With no idea how to escape he sat there and wailed. And just when he thought he was going to die at the bottom of this hole he heard it. Both Keith and the memory Keith looked up at the sound of yelling. The two watched as Krolia’s face appeared above the hole. She looked frazzled and her eyes were crazed with worry. 

“ _Keith_!”

Suddenly the memory was fading and Keith was back in the Quantum Abyss. He was propped up on a rock with Krolia still crouched before him. From beneath her visor Keith could see the way her face twisted in concern.

“ _Are you alright?_ ” She asked, hands coming up to hold his face. Krolia tilted his head from side-to-side like that would make it easier for her to see any damages beneath his uniform.

“ _I’m fine. What the heck was that though?_ ” Keith asked as he shook out his head. It felt like there was cotton stuffed inside it; though it was a nice reprieve compared to the pain he’d felt prior.

Krolia glanced towards the abyss’ center and let her hands fall to her side. “ _Time collapses this close to dark stars. Going through the light triggers glimpses of the past and the future._ ”

“ _Ugh, just what I needed. Something other than the Guardian dumping visions on me._ ”

Standing with a snort, Krolia reached out and helped Keith to his feet. “ _Let’s keep going._ ”

The two traveled further into the Quantum Abyss, growing more used to the time collapses as they happened. Keith was still struck with pain from each flare but gradually he learned when to brace for it. The two of them caught glimpses of each other’s past and things of the future.

Keith saw how Krolia came to Earth and made the decision to stay with Tex. Then he saw what they were doing the day Keith arrived. Tex and Krolia had been sitting out on the porch sipping warm drinks and cuddling when they saw the massive Lion flying through the sky heading straight for Blue. Keith had winced at how visible he was and cursed his rash decision to get that close to the ground. In hindsight it was a miracle that it was Tex and Krolia who spotted him instead of someone else. 

Another vision they saw of the past was one of Krolia’s memories. She was cradling a sleeping Keith close to her chest and was in the middle of humming a lullaby. It was a song that got stuck in her head thanks to Tex constantly singing it. But after spending so long with her mate she wouldn’t deny her fondness for the song. When she left Earth she’d sometimes whisper the lyrics to herself as a reminder of what she was fighting for.

Though some of the visions were pleasant, not all of them were. One such vision left Keith shaken and unable to move, tears blinding him as a gut-wrenching pain stole his breath away. He’d had a vision of something he saw on Oriande. Something the Guardian had shown him. It was a little strange to see a vision within a vision, but with the state he was in Keith couldn’t fathom contemplating it. 

The vision Keith had seen started out mostly peaceful. He was standing on Altea viewing the world through someone else’s eyes. At first he didn’t know who this was but then he caught sight of a familiar house and slowly the pieces began forming together. He was walking away from the house, arms heavy with the amount of flowers weighing them down. Gradually Keith stopped walking at the base of a tree and crouched down before a gravestone. 

When Keith had first read the name on the grave, he’d felt as if someone punched his soul right from his chest. His mother’s name stood out against the sleek white of the pillar marking her grave. Atka’s helmet was propped next to it along with flowers that had long since withered away. 

As Keith saw his hands move to replace those flowers, he saw the familiar rings his other mother loved to wear. It was then that he knew whose point of view he was seeing this vision from. Just when Keith thought his heart couldn’t rip itself into even smaller shreds there was a deafening boom from up above. 

It was with bone-deep horror Keith looked up into the sky and saw Galra cruisers appear one by one. They blotted out the suns with their massive bulk and still more kept coming till they blanketed the skies. The last thing Keith saw was the cannons powering up with sickening purple energy before the vision ended.

“ _Keith! Keith look at me. Kit breath,_ _ **breath.**_ ” 

Krolia’s bruising grip on his shoulders was as grounding as her words. He suddenly gasped, inhaling so hard his entire frame seemed to rattle. Keith sobbed openly and collapsed into Krolia’s arms. He clung to her and cried his heart out as the pain of seeing his mother’s grave and the implied death of his other mother washed over him once more. 

“ _It’s alright Keith, I’m here._ ” Krolia held Keith close to her chest and let out a rusty purr meant to comfort her child. The prick of her claws was felt from how tightly she was holding him even through his suit. In this instance it was just as grounding as it was comforting.

Thankfully out of all the visions, that was the only one that brought him the most pain. However the forceful recollection of it left him feeling raw and exposed. Krolia’s presence at his side helped Keith stay in the moment though. If he slipped too far into his head she was there to drag him out. There was no need for him to explain the vision they saw. His breakdown was as much of an answer as any. All Krolia could do was support him and be a source of comfort as he put himself back together.

After that their journey was relatively easier. Sometime during their dive into the abyss they quite literally stumbled across whale-like creatures. The massive animals seemed to navigate through the abyss with ease and having no better options on hand, both Keith and Krolia hitched a ride on one of the creatures’ back. There they found a breathable atmosphere, consumable water, and even food. 

Time passed while on that whale. Keith and Krolia began keeping track just so they would have a frame of reference on how long they’d been traveling. On the first day of exploring the whale’s back they more or less picked up a companion. A shooting star had shot through the abyss and landed at least half a mile ahead of where they were walking. The moment the dust cleared and they saw the cosmic wolf pup laying in the crater, Keith was smitten. After saving it and taking it back to their make-shift camp, it was nearly an instant bond between the Altean and the wolf.

They traveled like this for little over two deca-phoebs. During that time they trained, bonded, and took glimpses at things that had happened and things that had yet to come. Keith was, at the moment, absentmindedly patting his cosmic wolf as he thought back to a recent vision. 

It had been of Keith scuffed up and bloodied from battle. He had burn marks along his body and seemed to be on his last legs. Then Keith had rushed forward and the next thing he knew the blade in his hands was meeting something solid and the warmth of blood was coating them. The vision didn’t show who or what he’d stabbed and it was driving Keith up the wall trying to figure it out. Krolia had tried to tell him to let it go since agonizing over it without any answers was doing him no good, but he could be stubborn when he wanted to.

“Keith… I think we’ve made it.”

Krolia’s stunned whisper instantly snapped Keith from his mulling. He stopped petting the wolf and stood, both of them turning to face the same direction as Krolia. Indeed she was right. The abyss-whale was just reaching the lip of the swirling black vortex the time collapses had been pulsing from.

Keith sighed, an indescribable feeling of relief washing over him. “It’s been two deca-phoebs. We can finally finish our mission.” And softer, almost as an afterthought, Keith whispered, “We’re nearly ready to go home…”

The moment Keith thought of his family his heart squeezed. Voltron… How were they? What about the Avok Fighters? The Blades? Had it been two deca-phoebs for them as well or had it been mere vargas? What if when they left the abyss, it turns out it’s been nearly 200 deca-phoebs or more? All his human friends dead. Maybe the coalition was dead as well. Had Zarkon won? What if—

An insistent nudge to Keith’s side had him jolting from his racing thoughts. He looked down and met the piercing eyes of his wolf. Slowly Keith managed to crack a smile before reaching out and giving him a quick scratch behind the ear.

“Thanks boy…” 

There was no time to worry about that as they were just breeching the vortex. The moment they were traveling through it Keith was struck with the nostalgic feeling of going through wormholes. He honestly missed the feeling of it. He also missed flying White and connecting with the Guardian. Though he could still sense its presence somewhere in his mind, the Lion hadn’t attempted to reach out to him throughout this journey. It filled Keith with both relief and apprehension.

Whatever the reasons for its silence were, Keith could ponder them later. Right now there were more important things at hand. Like the fact that after emerging from the wormhole-time vortex they were suddenly met with a planet in the distance. And then Krolia said she was picking up quintessence readings similar to the ones she found on that abandoned ship. That was all the confirmation they needed before they tried figuring out a way to get to the planet’s surface.

By the time they landed it took about a varga of walking just to reach where the signatures were highest. The source of the readings led them to a canyon filled with rocks and twisting dead roots. They had to climb over the massive vegetation but with a teleporting space wolf it was made a little easier. Eventually they made it to the heart of the canyon and there they found a structure that left Keith uneasy.

He had no clue what the building was, but it was tall and plated in white with accents of gold. The honeycomb shaped windows were a bright blue and opaque, completely blocking out whatever might be inside. The architecture was modest while still maintaining a level of beauty all too familiar with Keith.

“ _It… It looks Altean_.” He whispered breathlessly.

Krolia spared him a glance before turning back towards the structure. “ _This is the source of the readings. Let’s go check it out._ ”

And so they continued onwards. They had to make their own entrance in what looked like a loading dock but when no enemies appeared after their loud entrance they allowed themselves a tick to breath. Keith led the way down the hall and towards a door that looked somewhat rusty from disuse. 

He pressed his hand on the pad near the door and it beeped for a moment. The door let out a heavy groan as it tried to slide open only to stop a third of the way. 

Keith grit his teeth and grabbed the edge, “ _This is going to be loud._ ” He warned so both Krolia and the wolf could be prepared.

The door gave a shrill screech as Keith forcefully pulled it open wider. He was momentarily shocked when sunlight spilled in through the door and cast both him and Krolia in a warm glow. But when he got a good look at what was inside, Keith felt another wave of surprise wash over him.

“ _What…?_ ” 

He stepped out into the field of Juniberries with legs trembling like a newborn. A cold sweat had broken out along his back and Keith was so overwhelmed he felt he might be sick. Were these… Real?

He needed to smell them. H-he needed to feel their petals—!

Keith didn’t care as he ripped off his hood and deactivated his helmet. With a desperation Krolia had never seen before, she watched as Keith yanked off one of his gloves and reached for a flower. But then he hesitated. A visible tremble ran through his hand and his breath came out in short gasps.

What if these were fake? What if it was just an illusion? But Krolia saw them as well. And he could see his wolf sniffing a clump of flowers near the entrance they came from.

Keith took in a deep breath and held it for a moment. He closed his eyes and forced himself to calm down. Then when he felt like he wasn’t about to burst at the seams he finally reached out and plucked a flower. 

It broke cleanly with only a minor tremble of the delicate petals. Keith treated the flower like a bomb as he carefully raised it to his nose and gave a light sniff. The sweet scent tickled his senses and the next thing Keith knew tears were streaming down his face.

“ _Keith!_ ” Krolia dropped beside him, alarm etched deeply into her features. She looked torn between slapping the flower out of his hand and just grabbing him. 

“They’re real.” He sobbed, switching the flower to his other hand so he could touch the petals. He reveled in how soft they were and felt punch-drunk from the scent alone. “I never thought I’d see Juniberry flowers again, let alone smell them. But they’re here in this… Place! This place is Altean-made. But what’s it doing here?”

The way Keith suddenly shot to his feet startled his two companions. But he couldn’t bring himself to care at the moment. He was too focused on getting to the bottom of whatever **this** was. 

He set off at a brisk pace into the woods with his mother and wolf following close behind. As they walked further in they could hear the sound of running water further up ahead. Yet beneath that sound was something else. It was the inconsistent dipping and rising sound of humming.

Keith raised a hand to indicate for Krolia to stop before he crept forward in a crouch. He used a tree for cover and peered around its bark to see where that humming was coming from. 

When his eyes landed on the person’s back Keith stiffened. Squatting near a stream a good distance away from them was a person. They were washing clothes and humming a jaunty tune. They seemed unaware of their new audience, though that didn’t last for long.

Keith’s grip on the tree tightened which caused the wood to crack. The person’s ears twitched at the sudden sound and they gasped in surprise before quickly turning. Keith’s breath froze in his lungs when he caught sight of their face. Or to be more accurate the marks on their face.

“An Altean…”


	16. The Forgotten Altean

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Altean forgotten by time is not the one they just met.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hello everyone! I actually forgot to post this last night xD anyways here we are at chapter 16. The pieces are in place and will finally come to a head. I hope you enjoy this chapter! Honestly my biggest problem is that I want to add SO MUCH to each chapter but in certain scenarios it would be too out of place or extend a scene too long. Which sucks because I can't spend longer exploring certain characters. But oh well. I'll have my chance in the future I'm sure :> Thank you all for reading and stay safe~ I will be going on a break from posting chapters here so do not expect a chapter next week!

“Allura?”

Lance stood in the doorway of the ship’s bridge watching Allura pour over star charts with a single-minded focus. She’d occasionally raise her hand and swipe, scattering the hologram and jumping to another star system. She gave no indication she’d heard his entrance nor did she seem to register his voice.

“Allura,” Lance said a bit firmer, walking into the room so he could stand beside her. The Princess jumped at a touch to her shoulder. She spun around and looked at Lance with wide eyes. Allura seem frazzled, though compared to the rest of the team it wasn’t all that strange. Everyone had been in a state of distress these past three months, some hiding it better than others. 

“Oh! Lance! I did not hear you come in.” Allura flashed him a strained smile before turning back to face the cosmos surrounding her. “I was just marking down areas Voltron has yet to travel to. There are still quite a lot of planets under Galra control and…”

Lance listened to Allura ramble for a while, taking in the near frantic way she seemed to be suggesting which planets they could go to next. His expression pinched and finally he could no longer take it, “Allura. Keith’s not going to be there.”

Allura froze, her words dying on the tip of her tongue. A noticeable tremor ran through her hands before she clenched them into fists at her sides. Allura glared down at her feet as Lance’s blunt words began whittling away the last of her strength.

She swallowed past a shuddering breath and closed her eyes, “Do you think I don’t know this?”

“Of course I don’t think that,” Lance’s hand, still resting on her shoulder, squeezed in comfort. “But Allura, we need to be rational about this. It’s like when Keith disappeared the last time. We didn’t hear from him for ages before Lotor was dropping in on our doorstep to show us where to find him.”

She held her head in frustration, “But it’s been phoebs, Lance. And no one else will be coming out of the woodwork to point us towards Oriande because we already know where it is! And even that didn’t help us.” 

After the first month of no contact from Keith, they’d sent a message to Kolivan asking if he’s heard anything. The Marmora leader had been perturbed, stating that the last message he received from Keith was nearly a full movement ago. In it Keith had said he was taking a detour with the Blade operative he’d extracted. After that it was complete radio silence.

Voltron traveled to where Keith’s last point of contact was, finding nothing to indicate where the two had disappeared to. Out of options they’d gone to Oriande with the hope that maybe he’d be there. In the end they could confirm that wasn’t the case. This left Voltron in a literal dead-end on just where their missing member could possibly be.

“I want to find him as much as everyone, but I’ve learned from last time. Running ourselves into the ground isn’t going to do anyone any good.” Lance’s grip slid from Allura’s shoulder and he hesitated for a moment before taking her hand. He gave her a small smile, “We know Keith is fine because the Guardian didn’t have him and White hasn’t gone to get him.”

Allura inhaled deeply for a moment before she nodded. “You’re right. But it’s just… Frustrating. The not knowing? I cannot help but think of all the worst possible scenarios as to explain why Yorak has not contacted any of us.”

Lance nodded in understanding and looked up at the projected stars. “I get it. I feel the same way when I think about Earth. I always wonder if the Galra have started heading in that direction already. Not knowing if Earth is ok eats me up inside. But sometimes when it gets to be too much, I have you guys to keep me in the moment. Even Red keeps me grounded when I get too lost in my head.”

That Allura understood. She found herself offering a more genuine smile at that, “Blue is the same way. I can feel her in the back of my mind.”

“Like a cold glass of water, yeah?”

“Exactly. I’m guessing that’s how she felt for you?” 

Somehow the two found themselves sitting at the edge of the podium, the stars around them going forgotten as the two simply talked. 

“Yep. When I first took up her controls it was like being dunked in the ocean right after winter. A chill that just grabs you. But a good one. Afterwards I got so used to her being in my head that I couldn’t imagine how it felt before I had her. The feeling of not having a Lion just seems so long ago now.” Lance stretched out his legs and looked down at his worn and scuffed shoes. “Blue was a comfort in more ways than one. Though she wasn’t made on Earth, she still stayed on it for like 10,000 years. So in a way Earth was her home, like mine. And I dunno, with her it felt like I had a little piece of Earth even all the way out here.”

Allura hummed, her knees pulled up to her chest as she rested her chin on them. She hesitated for a moment before asking, “Do you miss her?”

Lance thought about that long and hard, answering honestly, “I think some part of me will always miss her. But I was never meant to be her Paladin. At the time it hurt to hear, but I’ve come to terms with it.” 

Allura turned to look at him, cheek resting on her knees. “But what about your comfort?”

“I still have it, just in a different way. Red filled up what space Blue occupied. I won’t lie, it took some getting used to. Red is a lot different than Blue. The best way I can describe her is like a burning fire.” Lance pursed his lips, face scrunching as he thought back on his first few days being Red’s Paladin. “At first I always felt like I would be cooked from the inside out. But now I see it more like a heated blanket swaddling me.”

“I see,” Allura nodded slowly, “That does sound like quite the comfort. I’m glad you have Red there for you.”

“And I’m glad you have Blue.”

The two shared a small smile, Allura moving one of her hands to rest on Lance’s. She squeezed his hand and her smile widened when he returned the gesture. The two leaned close, sharing a breath of peace in the moment. 

Though sadly their little bubble was popped by an alarm sounding off within the ship. Both Paladins jumped and Allura quickly raised her hands. She dispelled the stars and instead brought up a series of cameras, hovering her hand over one and enlarging it. There the two saw just as White opened up a wormhole and disappeared though it with a scattering roar. 

“D-did that just happen?” Lance stuttered, unable to pull his eyes away from the screen.

Allura was much the same way if one were to take a look. Together the two stared slack jaw at the screen for a moment before finally Allura seemed to snap to. A dais raised and she quickly pressed a hand to it, activating the ship’s intercom systems. “Paladins! Report to the bridge! White has just left the ship via wormhole!”

Once that was done she switched channels and sent out a call to the Avok Fighters. Lotor and his generals were currently off taking care of their own missions. The five of them were providing escorts and defense for the scientist they'd rescued before. With Sam Holt as acting leader for the group, they were making stops between the rebel bases to help update their systems and other things they could tinker with.

“This is Princess Allura calling the Avok Fighters. Come in.” 

The call picked up and on the ship’s window an image of Acxa appeared. “ _Avok 2 reporting. How can I help you, Princess?_ ”

“Acxa, where are you all right now?”

“ _Currently I am en route to planet Senfama with my assigned ship. Our last check in placed Lotor on Olkari, Zethrid escorting crystals extracted from Balmera X-95-Vox, and Narti accompanying Samuel Holt with Ezor as backup._ ” 

Allura nodded at hearing this. That explained why it was Acxa who picked up and not Lotor. With the Avok Fighters, the call went directly to the first available ship in ranking. Acxa, being Avok 2, meant that Lotor was not currently at his ship.

Acxa tensed at whatever look she saw on both Lance and Allura’s faces. However beneath her helmet it was difficult to tell what expression she was making. “ _Is something the matter, Princess Allura?_ ”

“Not per say,” She bit her lip, “Just now the White Lion opened up a wormhole and left the castle ship.”

The only indication of Acxa’s surprise was the way she seemed to straighten in her seat. “ _Then that means…?_ ”

“Yes. I believe that Yorak has summoned his Lion. While I want everyone here to greet him when he returns, I understand that your missions come first. So please focus on them before returning.”

“ _Understood. Shall I relay the news to the others?_ ”

Allura smiled at that and nodded, “If you’d be so kind. I imagine Lotor will be relieved to know Yorak is fine. Thank you, Acxa.”

The Galra general nodded, “ _Of course. Be well, Princess._ ”

“And you too.”

The call ended just as the bridge doors opened and the rest of the castle’s occupants came pouring in. They were like a storm, eagerly demanding answers from Allura. She graciously replayed the footage from the security feed, this time from the very beginning. They all watched as White’s eyes flashed to life before the Lion was standing, shaking out its body and then opening a wormhole.

Pidge was visibly vibrating from the sudden influx of emotions coursing through her. “So this is it? He’s finally coming home?”

“That’s what it looks like.” Shiro’s heart ached from the prospect of Keith returning. 

Over the past three months Shiro felt Keith’s absence like a physical wound. It honestly reminded him of the phantom pains he’d sometimes get in his Galra arm. But that just showed him how much Keith truly meant to him. He didn’t have it all figured out, at least not entirely. But he knew that Keith meant a lot more to him than just a friend. Shiro didn’t know when what he felt began changing, he just knew that at this point he couldn’t imagine being without Keith. Shiro just hated the fact it took losing Keith for him to realize this. So he made the vow that when Keith returned, they’d talk about whatever it was growing between the two of them.

“So how long do we have to wait?” Hunk asked as he looked between the gathered team.

“Not long I hope!” Coran gave a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. It left those near him feeling unnerved and they blatantly scooted away from him. “He’d better have a good explanation for disappearing on us.”

“I mean didn’t he tell Kolivan they’d be taking a detour?” 

Lance flinched when Coran turned that sinister smile towards him. “Correct! That’s why I’m going to allow him a moment to explain himself before I box his ears.”

While that didn’t seem like the right thing to do to someone whose been gone for three months, they could kind of understand where Coran was coming from. Hopefully he really didn’t hit Keith again. The first time had been shocking enough and none of the others believed they could handle a second.

And so the group waited in the bridge for a full varga in various states of boredom. Finally when it seemed like it’d be bleeding into another varga, something happened. There was a beep from the ship’s command that had Coran launching himself from his seat and scrambling to answer. 

“It’s a call!! From Keith!”

Everyone leapt to their feet and watched with bated breath as a screen appeared before them. The moment it cleared they noticed quite a few things. One was the fact that it was indeed Keith piloting White. The second thing was that he appeared different. Not just different; _older_. His jaw looked sharper and there was more muscle to his frame. Even his hair seemed longer from what they could see of the thick braid hanging over his shoulder.

At seeing his team, Keith’s expression eased into one of breathless joy. “ _Guys._ ” He croaked, unnamed emotions dripping from that single word.

“Keith!”

“Yorak!”

“You’re ok!!”

“Man where’d you go?!”

Keith merely smiled at the questions and yells thrown his way. He couldn’t seem to fathom answering them. Instead he just barked a sharp, single laugh and bent forward. He raised his hands and buried his face in them. Keith’s shoulders shook and he seemed to be wracked with silent sobs. That instantly changed the questions from asking where he’s been to if he’s ok.

He sniffed and shook his head before looking up and flashing them a watery grin. “ _I’m..._ ” He had to pause and clear his throat before he tried speaking again. “ _I’m fine. I just really missed you guys._ ”

“Keith,” Instantly violet eyes snapped onto Shiro’s form with an intense focus. Shiro could confidently say he was probably looking at Keith in the very same fashion. “What happened? Where did you go?”

Keith brightened in excitement as he glanced over his shoulder, “ _It’s a long story. Send me your coordinates and we’ll be there soon_.” Then as an afterthought he scanned a look over the gathered members and realized there were five missing. “ _Where’s Lotor?_ ”

“Lotor and the others are finishing up their individual missions. They’ll head back here when they get the chance.” Coran explained as he sent Keith the coordinates.

Keith nodded at that, glancing to the side when there was a beep on screen. “ _I got it. I’ll see you all in a bit._ ”

And with that he abruptly cut the call. There was a moment of pause where everyone processed the past minute. Then at the drop of a hat they were sprinting from the bridge and down to the hangar Keith had claimed for White. 

It took a solid five minutes of running to reach the hangar, Allura the first to enter. She was quick to open the bay doors while everyone else poured in after her. And on the other side patiently waiting for the doors to open was White. The Lion flew in and landed with a purr. They lowered their head between their paws and opened their mouth before their eyes dimmed.

Seeing Keith stumble down the ramp in his haste to get out matched the desperation his team felt. Shiro unconsciously mimicked Keith and began running to meet the other halfway. When he was close enough, Keith leapt forward and slammed into Shiro with a choked gasp. 

Keith wrapped his arms around Shiro and clung to him like he was afraid the other would disappear. Shiro was no better. He held Keith as tight as possible, Galra arm creaking from the force behind it. However if it hurt him, Keith didn’t say. Instead he busied himself by burying his face into Shiro’s neck.

“Shiro.” The way Keith uttered Shiro’s name sent a thrill down his spine.

The two pulled away, though not by much. Keith was noticeably taller now with Shiro only having a few stray inches on him. They stared into each other’s eyes for what felt like ages. Neither was able to put into words whatever thoughts were rushing through their heads and the few seconds they stood there in choked silence doing **nothing** grated on their teammate’s nerves.

“Have your moment later!” Pidge demanded before she threw herself into Keith’s side.

“Hate to say it but I’m with Pidge.” Hunk added, coming around and swamping Keith in a large bear hug.

One by one Keith was swarmed and hugged within an inch of his life. He could only stand there and take it, twisting so he could try and return them. Keith clung to his team like he hadn’t seen them in years. And almost like they could sense this anxiety, they returned the hold tenfold.

“Where did you go, man?!” 

“And why do you look older?”

“You’d better have a good reason for going AWOL on us!”

There was the sound of someone clearing their throat had everyone’s attention turning towards White. Standing before them was a tall Galra with sharp features, a large blue wolf, and clinging to the Galra’s arm hiding partially behind her was a girl. The girl had been looking around at the hangar but at the sound of the Galra clearing her throat she snapped to attention and faced the group.

Allura gasped sharply when she caught sight of the markings beneath the girl’s face. It felt as if her heart had stopped and her lungs refused to cooperate in giving her air. “You’re… Altean?”

Coran was stunned, clearly shaken for a moment before he cast Keith a weary glance. “Why is it every time you disappear you come back to show us something we thought impossible?”

Keith cracked a grin at that and shrugged a shoulder, “Luck of the draw, I guess.”

“Perhaps for explanations we should move to somewhere more comfortable?” The Galra gave Keith a pointed look, quirking her brow.

“Right. This is going to be a long story so let’s find somewhere to sit. And maybe wait for Lotor to show up. I really want him to be here too.” Keith said as he extracted himself from his team’s hold. Though the grip Pidge had on his wrist didn’t seem like it was going to be dislodged anytime soon, so Keith just let her be.

He took the initiative to lead the team from the hangar, Shiro following at his heels like an overzealous puppy. However both Coran and Allura were a little slower as they were too busy staring at the Altean in confused awe. The girl didn’t seem bothered by their stares and instead returned it with her own look of intrigue.

She let go of the Galra and quickly took both Allura and Coran’s hands before shaking them enthusiastically. “It’s very nice to meet you, Princess Allura, Coran! I do not personally know you but Yorak has told me so much! I’m honored to meet royalty! Oh Bandor is going to be so jealous!”

“Romelle,” The Galra placed a fleeting hand to her shoulder, “Don’t overwhelm them so suddenly.” 

“Right! Sorry!” Despite her apologetic smile, Romelle continued to hold onto the two older Alteans. Instantly her excitement was back as she began tugging them after the group. “I’ve never been on a castle ship before. Is it as old as you? How many rooms does it have?”

The questions came streaming out one after the other. The two eventually managed to shake themselves from their stupor long enough for Coran to croakily answer them. He’d never thought to encounter another Altean and neither had Allura, not in this dimension at least. 

Up at the front of the group, Keith turned slightly and held a hand out to Lance. “Give me your communicator.”

“What? Why?” Lance frowned even as he slipped it out and dropped it into Keith’s hand.

Keith grunted, searching through Lance’s long stream of contacts before locating Lotor. He quirked a brow at the digital heart placed near it, having noticed a similar symbol near Allura’s. Lance instantly flushed at the unimpressed look sent his way, the Red Paladin quickly looking away. Keith graciously didn’t comment on it as he typed out a quick message.

“Telling Lotor what room we’ll be in. It’ll save him the trouble of running through the ship like a headless duck.”

“Duck??”

Shiro chuckled, reaching out to touch Keith’s back and gain his attention. “It’s chicken, Keith. A headless chicken.”

Keith scrunched up his face for a moment before grunting and tossing the communicator back to Lance. “Duck-chicken. Same thing.”

From Keith’s other side Pidge snorted, “No, they really aren’t.”

Sniffling, Hunk threw his arms around Keith and picked him up in a hug as they walked. “Ah I missed your humor, bud.”

After several more minutes of walking, the group filed into one of the more casual meeting rooms. Keith collapsed into the couch like he hadn’t sat down in years. He groaned, practically melting into the seat while Shiro and Pidge sat on either side of him.

“Stars, I don’t think I can get up.” He groaned.

“Wouldn’t be the first time you fell asleep on something that wasn’t a bed.” The Galra said as she came into the room. She smirked slightly, “Though it’s one of your more ‘ _tame’_ choices.”

Keith merely grunted and lazily waved a hand, “I’m a warrior, not a scholar. I’ll take any sleep I can get no matter the location.”

There was a sudden flash of light and the smell of ozone filled the air just as the wolf appeared in front of Keith. Everyone not used to the alien creature jumped in shock. 

Lance let out a squawk, “Holy crow your wolf can teleport!”

Pidge’s eyes widened and she crouched down to be somewhat eye level with it. “Amazing… I’ve never seen something like this before. Can it teleport anywhere? Or does it have to be within line of sight? What are the limits of its teleportation?”

The wolf’s ears perked up before its mouth fell open and it was darting forward to lick at Pidge’s face. She yelled in shock and fell backwards to avoid the slobbering tongue. However that did nothing to deter the wolf as he just climbed on the couch after her.

Keith grunted, only barely shoving the animal when its rapidly wagging tail kept smacking him in the face. Keith slid to the side, flopping against Shiro and sighing like he was finally content. Keith had gone a full two years without any contact from Shiro. If he wanted to be a little demanding and seek out the other’s touch then he had every right to indulge himself!

Shiro didn’t seem the least bit bothered by this and merely wrapped an arm around Keith’s shoulders. Having Keith cuddle him sent warmth throughout Shiro’s body. It was like a breath of fresh air and a warm summer all wrapped into one. If Shiro happened to tighten his hold around Keith, no one else had to know but them.

“Um Yorak? Would you mind explaining now?” The smile Allura gave him was, to put it bluntly, strained. A quick look in her eyes would show how much she was internally screaming about the Altean happily sitting between her and Coran.

Keith hummed, fighting back a yawn. “In a moment.”

The Galra, having chosen to lean against the wall instead of sit, crossed her arms over her chest. “Keith.” Her tone held a warning to it that had a few of the younger Voltron members straightening their spines with a familiarity that shocked them. For Lance, Pidge, and Hunk, it almost felt like sternness they’d see coming from their moms.

Keith visibly rolled his eyes, unfazed by the tone and gestured towards the door, “He’s almost here. There’s no point talking about it now when I’ll just have to repeat myself.”

Just as Keith said this, they could hear the sound of someone running just outside the room. The person’s shoes squeaked as they skidded to a stop and then the door was sliding open to reveal a haggard-looking Lotor. It appeared as if he’d just run all the way from the Avok hangers and didn’t stop for a second.

“Yorak!” He gasped the moment he stepped into the room.

“Calm down, brat. I’m right here.” Keith smirked in spite of his reprimand. 

Lotor’s eyes zeroed in on the Altean before he visibly relaxed. Lotor cleared his throat and took a moment to smooth his hair back from his face. “Apologies.” 

No longer overcome by panic, Lotor finally took notice of the new occupants to the room. He spared a fleeting glance to the lone Galra before drifting his eyes over the wolf laying on the couch. He noticed a tuft of brown hair and gangly limbs buried from beneath its bulk, clueing him in on where Pidge was located. Lotor had a fleeting moment to wonder if she was breathing before his attention was stolen by the Altean seated between Coran and Allura. The girl was staring at him like she was trying to see into his soul, her eyes wide and searching.

Lotor hesitated for a moment before he shuffled into the room. There were plenty of seats left empty but Lotor drifted to sit beside Hunk when the Yellow Paladin patted the spot next to him. He crossed one leg over the other and folded his hands in his lap before inclining his head in Keith’s direction.

“Alright,” Keith sighed as he pulled himself to sit upright instead of draping over Shiro like melted wax. “So first, introductions.” He gestured to the Galra by the door, “This is Krolia.”

Everyone at some point had been made aware of Keith’s time on Earth. They learned of the Galra and human who found him, raised him, and basically helped Keith integrate into human society. So really all they needed was to hear her name before they understood that this was Keith’s adoptive mother.

“And this is Romelle,” Keith said as he gestured towards the Altean.

Pidge stuck her head out from beneath the wolf’s chest fluff and craned her neck to try and look at Keith. “What about the wolf?”

“He hasn’t told me his name yet.”

The room was silent as they stared at Keith. He frowned and hunched his shoulders a little defensively. “What?”

Coran wisely chose to divert attention away from Keith and his odd reasoning. He’s learned over the years to not question his friend on certain things. Less of a headache that way. “How’s about you start explaining what happened from when you went on your mission and go from there?”

Keith took a moment to nudge the wolf off Pidge and onto the ground so she could sit up properly. Then he began telling the long, arduous tale of how he found Krolia and the two got stranded in the Quantum Abyss. He talked about how they had to travel on foot because Keith didn’t want to risk calling White and have those abyss creatures try and rip into it. He only briefly mentioned their time spent riding the abyss whales, but it still had everyone in various states of shock.

“Oh Yorak, two years?” Allura covered her mouth in disbelief.

Keith could only nod before he returned to his story, “When Krolia and I found the source we came upon an Altean-made structure. There was no doubt about it what the thing was. When we got inside it was like we came across a greenhouse or a personal biome. Inside it looked to go on for miles and the flora and fauna were entirely Altean. I noticed some hybrids and new creatures, but it’s been 10,000 deca-phoebs so evolution is expected. Anyways we started exploring and came across Romelle. We both realized the other was Altean and from there she showed me the colony.”

“Colony? Does that mean there’s more Alteans?” Coran asked with wide eyes.

“Oh there’s at least a thousand of us,” Romelle finally pipped up from where she sat. The girl’s smile was wide as she turned her attention to the Galra Prince. “And we have you to thank for that, Prince Lotor.”

Lotor’s surprise was only discernable in the way his eyes widened fractionally. “Me? What could I have possibly…?” His frown deepened as he trailed off.

Romelle didn’t seem bothered by this as she leaned forward in her seat. “It doesn’t surprise me you wouldn’t remember. Every Altean child in the colony knows the story of how you, Lotor, gave us a chance to survive. When Zarkon attacked, many Alteans were off-planet on trading expeditions. News traveled fast about the destruction of our home, those of us that remained went into hiding for many deca-phoebs. But you knew about Altean culture, your heritage. All because Yorak taught them to you! Because of this you managed to track some of us down.”

The gathered members could see the moment Lotor recognized what she was saying. His shoulders tensed and his hands clenched in his lap. “I… I remember this. They trusted me because I told them about Yorak. At that point he was still known and remembered.”

“You knew about this?” Allura snapped her attention to look at him. Her tone wasn’t accusatory, merely confused. “Why did you not say anything prior?”

“Because I was not sure the colony survived.” 

The air was sucked from the room and only left a tense silence in place. Lotor’s face was twisted in a myriad of complicated expressions as he stared down at his hands. “I had found Alteans deca-phoebs after the destruction of Altea and Daibazaal, yes. But I only told them of the hidden planet beyond the Quantum Abyss. I never checked to see if they went there because at the time Zarkon was keeping a stringent eye on anything I did. I felt it would risk the safety of the Alteans if Zarkon caught me making frequent trips that far out of my quadrant. So I simply… Didn’t. All these deca-phoebs I never knew if the colony survived. That’s why I never bothered to bring it up. I did not want to give false hope that the colony existed only to be proven wrong.”

“But the colony did survive.” Romelle said as she stood from her seat. She moved to crouch in front of Lotor and took his hands in hers. “Thanks to you, Altea survived. Zarkon did not wipe us out like he had hoped. You gave us a chance. And for that we will always be thankful.”

Keith could tell from just a glance that Lotor was growing overwhelmed. He was emotionally stunted from the toxic environment he’d grown up in. Because of this, it was quite easy for Lotor to get overloaded and shut down. So as usual, Keith was quick to come to his aid.

“We plan on returning to the colony.” He cut in, saving the Prince from floundering. “After talking it over with the colony’s current leader, Knaz, we agreed to move the Alteans to Oriande. They’ve been cut off too long and Oriande is the perfect place for them to get back in touch with whatever roots might’ve been lost over the deca-phoebs.”

Allura’s eyes widened and she was quickly springing to her feet, “Well what are we waiting for? Let’s head there right now!”

“Now?” Keith stared at her incredulously, “No disrespect but there is no way I’m opening up a wormhole to the colony anytime soon. It’s been two years, took a shit-ton of energy opening up a wormhole from the literal space pocket we were in, I just got back and I would like maybe a shower, some of Hunk’s cooking, and the time to just enjoy everyone’s company. Plus I still have to call Kolivan, fill him in, and then get filled in on whatever **I** missed when I’ve been gone.” 

“I can handle Kolivan, Kit.” Krolia said, startling the few who forgot she’d been there. “You go deal everything else on your little bucket list.”

Hunk grinned, standing from his seat and dusting his hands on his pants. “Then I’ll get started on lunch since Keith’s been missing my cooking.”

At the mention of food the wolf perked up, disappearing in a flash only to reappear by Hunk’s side. This time he wasn’t startled too bad and only jolted slightly from the sudden appearance. Hunk smiled, “I guess I needed a taste-tester anyways. Keith, I’m taking your wolf!”

Keith merely shrugged, “He goes where he wants.”

“Oh if everyone’s going to do their own things, could I get a tour of the castle?” Romelle asked with shining eyes.

Both Coran and Allura shared a look before they nodded and stood. “We’d be happy to show you, Romelle. We would also like to ask you questions about the colony, if you don’t mind.”

“Of course! I expected questions, after all. I hope you’ll answer mine as well, Princess.”

One by one the group all disbanded. It took some prying to get Pidge to detangle herself from Keith’s side, but she eventually, if reluctantly, trudged over to Lotor and coaxed him to follow her. He didn’t put up much of a fight, still lost in his own head and trying to center himself. Hopefully Pidge’s comforting presence would be able to help with that.

Keith went to his old room in order to gather a change of clothes for his shower. They smelt a little dusty but that was better than the Blade uniform he’d been wearing for the past two years. Of course he had been able to bathe on the abyss whales but the water had always been cold and he just wanted a moment to relax under _hot_ water.

It was just as Keith was gathering his clothes that there was a knock at his door.

“ _H-hey? Keith_?” Lance was muffled from the door but Keith could still clearly hear the hesitation in his voice.

Keith bit back a sigh, rolling his eyes and calling, “Come in.”

The door whooshed open and Lance quickly scurried inside. He made himself at home by plopping on Keith’s bed. Thankfully because of the cleaning drones there was no dust.

“Sorry I know you wanna shower but I’m at my wit’s end. I really need to talk about this before I explode!”

Keith slowly set down his tunic, turning so he could give Lance a quick onceover. He looked physically fine. Though he was fidgeting like crazy, wouldn’t keep eye contact, and was chewing his lip till it was torn. 

Frowning, Keith crossed his arms over his chest. “What’s up?”

Lance sucked in a quick breath of air, “Ok! So um I’m sure you’ve noticed but uh… Well the past three months you’ve been gone—for us anyways! It’s been three months for us. But yeah, so the past three months I’ve been getting close to Allura?” He then winced, stuttering an additional, “A-and Lotor?”

No longer concerned, Keith was just left puzzled. He tilted his head to the side, “Yeah? And?”

“And? Uuuuh well see funny thing is that I think I might like them?” Lance hunched his shoulders like it would make him seem smaller. He was giving Keith a sheepish smile and had to sit on his hands because he wouldn’t stop fidgeting.

“Uh-huh?” Keith had no clue why he was being told this. “Well I’m sure they like you too, Lance.”

“No man! Not that kind of like! I mean like- **like**! Like how you feel about Shiro!!”

Keith visibly stiffened and his face flushed a light blue. He valiantly ignored the burning in his cheeks and instead gave Lance a stink-eye. “I know what kind of like you’re talking about. But instead of telling me about it, shouldn’t you be telling them?”

“That’s my problem, I **can’t** tell them!” Lance threw his arms up in the air and flopped back onto Keith’s bed. He groaned and slapped his hands over his face. “I like both Allura **and** Lotor! Isn’t that weird?”

“Why would it be weird?” Keith sat down on the edge of the bed and pulled Lance’s hands from his face, “I read about human sexualities from a book Shiro gave me. I know humans sometimes do a thing called polyamory. If you’ve got a name for it then it isn’t as rare as you’re making it sound.”

Lance gave him a halfhearted scowl. “That’s humans, dude. I don’t know if you’ve noticed but Allura and Lotor aren’t humans.”

The glare Keith sent Lance had him wilting slightly. The Altean eventually clicked his tongue and eased up, “I don’t know why you’re stressing about this. Species don’t matter.”

“I just don’t want Allura or Lotor to think I’m being unfaithful. Or disingenuous.”

Keith sighed sharply and pinched the bridge of his nose, “I can’t believe this is happening…” He then snapped to attention and pointed a finger at Lance, “Look, I’m going to be blunt with you. For both Alteans and Galra, polyamorous relationships are extremely common. We just don’t label everything like humans enjoy doing. So just sit them both down and make it clear that you wanna court the both of them. After that they’ll either accept or reject the courting.” 

If they accepted though, that was a different story. After all Galra and Altean courting worked differently than humans. But Keith had a feeling if he mentioned that now, it’d only knock down whatever courage was building up in Lance. If they accepted, he’ll just wait till **after** the courting process started before taking Lance aside and explaining it to him.

Gradually the tension began easing from Lance’s frame. He looked calmer, even managing to smile crookedly. “That… Helps a lot to hear. Thanks man. I’ve been so tense I was afraid I’d start making diamonds!”

Keith’s brows furrowed in confusion. He knew diamonds were a ‘valuable’ mineral by Earth standards, but how would Lance be able to make them out here in space? He didn’t have any of the materials. Though Keith was curious, he had a feeling this was another one of those Earth idioms his dad would use. So it was probably best if he didn’t question it.

“Are we done then?” He asked instead.

Lance quickly sat up and scrambled to stand, smiling as he tucked his hands behind his head. “Oh yep! Totally! Thanks again, man. Now I just gotta figure out the right time to ask. And how I **should** ask. Should it be romantic or casual?”

Keith stood with a chuckle and once again gathered his spare clothes. “I’m sure you’ll think of something.”

As he made a step towards the door Keith froze as he was suddenly overcome with a distant feeling of distress and thrust unceremoniously into a vision. It was like the Guardian had physically dragged his head beneath ocean waves and was trying to drown him. 

He choked, eyes widening when he was finally able to make out what he was seeing. Keith was standing in a Galra cruiser, one of the smaller ones based off what he could tell. From where he was he could see that they were currently approaching the turbulent white hole that housed Oriande. Keith was disturbed, unable to fathom what he was seeing. 

“ _We’re approaching the white hole at a steady rate. We should breech within five doboshes._ ” Said someone to Keith’s right. Whoever’s view he was seeing the vision from didn’t care to look.

But then another voice spoke up, one that sent chills down Keith’s spine. He’s only heard it a few times but never could he forget such a voice. With mounting dread Keith watched as his view shifted from looking at the white hole to looking at a figure standing at the commanding dais of the ship, shrouded Druids surrounding her.

There stood Zarkon’s witch, expression hidden from the shadow of her hood. “ _Good. Continue forward_.”

Panic not his own flooded through Keith’s systems and he was suddenly thrust out of the vision with a gasp. 

“Holy crow, Keith!” Lance exclaimed when the other suddenly collapsed to his knees. Lance rushed to his side and quickly pulled him up to use the wall for support. “You ok man? What happened?”

“Oriande!” Keith gasped, eyes wild, “Haggar is going to Oriande!” 

“What?! B-But can’t the Guardian keep her out??”

Keith shook his head as that feeling of dread continued to constrict his throat. “Not if she forces her way in. The magic she has combined with her Druids…” Keith didn’t even bother to finish his sentence before he was dropping his clothes and tearing out of the room.

Lance stumbled after, standing in the hall as he watched Keith sprint away. “You get to Oriande! We’re right behind you!” He could sense the urgency of the situation and wasted no time dallying. Turning on his heel, Lance sprinted the other way, throwing his head back and yelling as loud as he could, “We’ve got a serious emergency!!! Everyone get to your Lions!”


	17. Her Choice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She needed more power. With it she could eliminate Zarkon, eliminate Yorak. There would be nothing standing in her way of building a future for her son. All she needed was power.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Back from my break with this chapter! It was a little tricky to write since I've never written Honerva before. Especially not her point of view. Though this is my version of Haggar/Honerva so her motivation is slightly different. Some people may not agree with it but oh well. Can't please everyone. Either way here we are. This chapter is going to be relatively shorter than the others and, to put it bluntly, I'll probably shorten chapters in the future. Spending time trying to pump out chapters that are around 6k and then editing it all by myself? It's draining. So sorry to anyone that's disappointed but ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ Anyways thanks for reading! Part 2 is drawing to a close~

The first time she’d felt this quintessence it had been a few hundred deca-phoebs after the birth of Prince Lotor. 

At first she had assumed it came from the Prince himself. A lingering touch from the mother who disappeared. However after some time that quintessence faded and so she pushed thoughts of it to the side. There was no point focusing on such trifle things if they did not last.

But then that quintessence appeared again, this time much more than the little dregs that had clung to the Prince. Only after contemplating it did she realize that the quintessence she felt was indeed the same as the stray whips bound to Lotor’s own. This only proved to intrigue her more.

Whoever this quintessence came from, they were just on the other side of the melted door. But who was it that carried such a unique quintessence? And how had it been possible for them to be around the Prince without her noticing? They must’ve been around long enough for their quintessence signature to linger, after all. So many questions and the only source for an answer was just on the other side of this door.

She had felt it the moment the quintessence began to build. It was overwhelming and all-consuming, like a sun eating anything that came close to it. She could feel the pure energy licking against her quintessence like flickering flames. It was suffocating, heavy. It was a level of quintessence she’d only seen from herself, later seeing it from the Altean Princess. This alone narrowed down the possibilities of what could be producing so much. But another Altean? One that had managed to sneak around beneath her and her Emperor’s noses? Impossible…

The moment the command center began to overload, Haggar teleported away just in the nick of time to avoid being consumed by the resulting explosion. The sheer force of it all had her pondering if perhaps the source of the quintessence was swallowed up as well. Whatever the case, she did not spend long thinking over it. Voltron was at their doorstep and their defenses were in a dire state. She could not let all their hard work go to waste. For the sake of the Galra Empire she would see to it that Voltron fell.

That was what Haggar thought as she gathered her Druids and activated the komar. It granted them enough time to suit up their Emperor and send him out against the Paladins of Voltron. It was with cold satisfaction Haggar watched Voltron and the Castle of Lions desperately try to fight against Zarkon. A foolish endeavor, one they would not win.

‘ _This is where Voltron falls_ ’, she had thought with an assurance built upon deca-phoebs of countless victories. 

But then the Princess of Altea herself came to fight against Haggar, effectively distracting them from aiding their Emperor in the battle. Haggar had no time to be displeased at her Druids falling to the Princess and the masked Galra for she was quickly occupied with her own battle. 

‘ _How foolish_ ’, she thought, ‘ _That this child believes she stands a chance_.’

Haggar can clearly see how her disregarding the Princess as a threat led to an opening. Having spent so long without an Altean around, Haggar had forgotten that they too were adept at sensing quintessence. So it was no wonder the Princess would be able to sense where she would appear next. 

The strike with the staff had caught Haggar by surprise. She had no time to brace for it and was sent reeling. As she slowly pulled herself up from her collapsed state, the Princess had given her an odd look and uttered something that sent Haggar on edge.

“ _You’re Altean?_ ”

Haggar didn’t bother with a response to the rhetorical question. She didn’t **want** to think about what she was, **ever**. Reaching for her magic was pure instinct at this point. Haggar gathered it up, all the poisonous magic she had at her disposal and struck forwards. She poured out an endless stream of dark quintessence, hoping to either overpower the Princess or devour her quintessence. However neither of those is what happened.

Before her very eyes, Haggar watched as the Princess’ quintessence protected her, deflecting every attack Haggar began throwing at her with mounting desperation. Haggar had thought her quintessence would be strong enough to consume the Princess’, she was wrong. Her quintessence was not strong enough.

This was a bitter pill to swallow. It was only made more sour when she realized that she had lost. Haggar’s expression turned hard, golden eyes gleaming with muted rage before she disappeared in a shroud. She needed time to think, to regroup and process what had just happened.

Never before had Haggar seen someone overpower her quintessence. She had been the strongest among Zarkon’s forces. She was respected, **feared**. Haggar had had plenty of deca-phoebs to hone her powers, so how could an untrained Princess waltz right in and beat her? It was infuriating, shameful even. It made Haggar’s skin crawl and a disgusting feeling settled in her stomach like a hot coal.

That feeling only grew when Voltron somehow managed to defeat Zarkon. It was a blow to both their moral and her Emperor’s standing amongst their soldiers. Suddenly he was no longer the undefeatable ruler they’d known. He could be beaten, he could lose. And right now he was severely injured.

Haggar forbid anyone from entering the Emperor’s chambers unless they were accompanied by her or her Druids. She would not risk someone attempting to kill their Emperor when he was vulnerable. Even if such an act would’ve been seen as cowardly amongst the Galra, she couldn’t risk it. Especially since they’d only recently uncovered one traitor in their midst. Who’s to say there weren’t more?

As the doctors worked to stabilize Zarkon with the help of Haggar and several Druids, Haggar noticed a tendril of quintessence clinging to Zarkon’s. She fought the urge to curl her lip and snarl in ire. It was that familiar quintessence, the one that had infected Lotor’s and had overrun the systems. So they survived the explosion, did they? How dare they taint her Emperor with their quintessence. The state he was in… It was their fault. 

There was only one positive to this situation and it was the fact that she now knew the confusing quintessence was coming from one of the Voltron Paladins. She did not know who, but she would find out. It was only a matter of time… But first she had to handle the unrest that was currently coursing through the Galra army.

“Summon Prince Lotor.” She rasped as she stalked from the room.

Bringing Lotor back from banishment as Emperor Pro Tem was for two reasons. One was to give the Galran people someone to look to for guidance while their true Emperor was indisposed. The second reason was to hopefully weed out whoever it was interfering with that abundantly potent quintessence of theirs. She was laying out a trap and using Lotor as the bait. Now she only needed a way to keep an eye on him.

At first she started with sending spies to tail the Prince whenever he’d leave the command center. However this proved to be a problem when they were always spotted and promptly dealt with. But Haggar did not let these minor failures get to her. It was fine, these were just little tests. If simple spies were not going to do the trick, then she’d go a step further. Lotor already had a healthy dose of suspicion and mistrust for anyone not within his close circle. But that itself left him open in a way he probably never through possible. If he trusted only a small few, then how unprepared would he be if the spy _came_ from his inner circle?

She sprung her trap the next time Lotor came to pointedly tell her about his displeasure over her countless spies. With him he’d brought one of his generals, the Gnal-hybrid. A perfect candidate for her possession. With his ineptitude for sensing energies, Lotor was completely unaware of the moment Haggar bled out her quintessence and wrapped it around his general’s like a noose. 

After that Haggar refrained from sending out any more spies. Let the Prince get suspicious or let him fall into a false-sense of security. Either option did not matter to Haggar, she had what she wanted. 

The first few times she used the possession, there wasn’t much to make note of. The only interesting moments where when Lotor was gone. However none of his generals ever mentioned where he was or what he was doing, so those moments were also useless in their own way. However after several times of this happening, one day it was suddenly different.

His generals stood around in their ship’s kitchen area, a few of them sitting at a table. Haggar watched from the Gnal’s point of view as the group of women conversed. 

“ _How long are we supposed to head this way?_ ”

“ _As long as we need to. Lotor didn’t say how long he would be._ ”

“ _But what do we do if he’s gone for a full movement and someone asks? He’s Emperor Pro Tem right now. That’s put a lot of eyes on us_.”

“ _Ezor’s right. We can’t keep saying ‘he’s gone out’ without someone sticking their nose in and being suspicious_.” The largest of the group said, leaning back in her chair.

“ _Besides we aren’t even sure where they’re going is the right place!_ ” 

Lotor’s most competent general narrowed her eyes at her companion, “ _Lotor received those coordinates personally from Yorak. It isn’t possible for them to be wrong_.”

“ _But isn’t the Patrulian Zone supposed to be a ship graveyard? Why would an ancient Altean place be hidden there_?”

“ _If you’re so curious, then ask Yorak when he returns_.”

“ _You mean_ _ **if**_ _he returns. This could just be a false lead_.”

“ _You know as well as I that it just isn’t possible_.” The horned general looked down at her drink, frowning at the darkened liquid. “ _For as long as I’ve known him, Lotor has been following in the path Yorak has set for him. From a young age he’d been told he would be guiding Voltron to Oriande. Yorak wouldn’t give him false coordinates if that was the case_.”

The two other generals shared a look before the larger one sighed and slouched in her chair. “ _You have a point_.”

“ _What do you think, Narti? Think they’re really going to find Yorak out there_?” 

Haggar forced her puppet to nod, pleased when attention was then diverted from her. The conversation switched to something unimportant, Haggar tuning it out for a moment before disconnecting from the Gnal. She stood in her private chamber, mulling over what she’d just learned. 

Prince Lotor knew the location to Oriande. And thanks to his generals, now Haggar did as well. She also now had a name to the quintessence she had felt on Lotor all those deca-phoebs ago. Or at least she assumed she had their name. 

Yorak.

It wasn’t an Altean name, not a traditional one. However if this supposed Altean was as old as her, then it made sense for him to have a Galran name. Often times Altean and Galran parents would name their children something from the other race’s repertoire of names. It was a sign of respect for the neighboring planet and their people. However after the destruction of Daibazaal and Altea, that practice long since died out.

Though this new information was valuable, it still wasn’t enough. How was it possible for an Altean to survive this long? Not even the oldest Alteans survived more than a single thousand deca-phoebs. And this one supposedly lived ten thousand? But apparently they also knew the location of Oriande. Perhaps this was how they managed to survive the fall of Altea, the genocide of Alteans, and the subsequent years after. Just another question to add to her growing list.

After that Haggar made sure to check in on Lotor’s generals every chance she got. There wasn’t much to make note of, Lotor still gone. Then finally on the 8th attempt of her checking, something happened. The Gnal had been looking at Lotor when Haggar connected. The first thing she noticed were the distinct markings beneath Lotor’s eyes. His Altean markings? Why now were they visible? 

Haggar forced the Gnal to turn her attention to the man standing beside Lotor. He stood out amongst the taller Galran-hybrids by being the shortest of the group. His hair was pure white and just from seeing his markings and ears, Haggar knew this was the Altean Yorak.

She watched as the Altean tilted his head, easy smile twisting into a look of concentration. Haggar saw his eyes drift over the group before landing on her puppet. She knew it was too late the moment she felt that annoying quintessence prod at the Gnal’s, no doubt sensing Haggar’s own woven deep into it. The Altean’s eyes widened and he was darting forward faster than she could react. Haggar only had a moment to see the other’s hand connect with the possessed Gnal’s face before that quintessence was washing over them. Haggar felt her control snap and the backlash bounced back on her. The portal-like vortex she’d been using to spy on Lotor exploded outwards and shoved Haggar back with a powerful force. She cried out, back slamming into the adjacent wall before dropping in a heap on the ground. 

As she lay there trying to pull herself together, Haggar realized how powerful that quintessence truly was. They were able to sense her almost instantly and rip away her control without any effort. The quintessence was so potent that she swore she could feel dregs of it swirling around her room. However impossible that was, it still did not prevent her from feeling shaken.

For over 10,000 deca-phoebs she had been content in her position as having the strongest quintessence. Her status in strength had been unquestionable. However now she was suddenly faced with not just one, but _two_ Alteans with magical strength larger than hers. And it left her feeling off-kilter. Was this the power of Oriande? How much strength would _she_ gain if she were to make the journey?

Slowly Haggar pushed herself up off the floor and stood. After taking a moment to adjust her robes and hood, she left her room and made her way through the halls to Zarkon’s chambers. As much as she wanted to go to the Patrulian Zone and see, she could not be careless. Voltron would no doubt be on edge and possibly guarding Oriande, especially if they’re aware she was Altean. So Haggar would wait, bide her time till the moment was right. Only then would she make the journey and see with her own eyes if Oriande truly did exist.

Yet with her spy being discovered, this led to a new problem. Lotor was no fool. The moment he realized he was compromised, he won’t return. His status as Emperor Pro Tem will be cast aside in favor of sticking to where his alliance truly lied. Not with the Galra Empire, the Empire that **raised** him, but Voltron.

Haggar’s lip curled into a snarl and she barely resisted the urge to give the orders to find and capture Lotor. She could not let it be known the Galra were without a leader. That would just spark an influx of fighting for power that she had little time or patience to deal with. This left only one option for her to take. If she managed to wake Zarkon from his sleep then there would be no need to pretend Lotor was still loyal to them.

With that in mind Haggar let herself into Zarkon’s chambers and cast a glare at the Druid and doctors in the room. “Leave us.”

Her order was promptly followed and soon only Haggar and her Emperor remained. She moved to stand by his bed, watching him for a moment before raising her hand. Purple quintessence began gathering over her hand, glittering in the room’s dimmed light. “Sire, your Empire needs you.” She whispered, a softness entering her voice that she didn’t even notice.

From there many things happened, things she could have never predicted. Trying to spark awake Zarkon’s consciousness did more than she anticipated. Not only did it awaken Zarkon, it awakened something in **her**. Memories long abandoned after her quintessence was infected by that creature from the rift. Haggar—no— _Honerva_ nearly collapsed from the sudden influx washing over her. 

She staggered back, breath coming in heavy pants as she leaned against the wall. Honerva slowly slid down till she was sitting, staring at her purple hands. Then like ink being washed from her body, the purple began to disappear till brown skin remained. Honerva’s hands shook, a panic she’d never felt overcoming her and stealing the air from her lungs.

How could she have forgotten? That her skin was not lavender, that she was not Galran. When had she forgotten her husband? Her **son**. They had been so excited for the baby before she’d taken ill. They picked his name and Zarkon himself had sought to get the best cradle made. They adored their unborn child… Where had that love gone?

Honerva’s hands shook as she brought them to her head, clutching her hair through her hood. Moments flashed through her mind, memories of her time as Haggar. The dismissal of Lotor, the venom she felt towards the boy, the **violence** she inflicted on him. 

Now it made sense to her why Lotor would accept the hand of Voltron, of that Altean. An Altean she **knew**. She wasn’t friends with Yorak back in their school days. They ran in different circles, especially when he became a guard and left with Prince Alfor to find Oriande. And find it they did. Afterwards practically everyone on Altea became aware of the missing guard; how he chose to stay behind on the mystical Oriande for a greater purpose. That purpose was now very clear to Honerva. If he’s out here and not on Oriande, then his purpose most likely has something to do with Voltron. He’s here to dismantle the Galra Empire and destroy everything Zarkon has built. And to do that he started with Lotor, Zarkon’s heir.

A deep well of anger surged up within Honerva. How dare he come and take advantage of Lotor when he was a child. No doubt getting close to him by using the fact they shared Altean blood. It would’ve been simple to feed him lies and turn him against Zarkon. A kind hand against the usual cold indifference thrust upon the boy. They made it all too easy for Yorak to weasel his way in and turn her son into a traitor. But no matter, they could fix this. _Honerva_ could fix this. All they needed was to retrieve Lotor and together she and Zarkon could work on mending the relationship they’ve inadvertently damaged. Surely it was not too far broken for them to try fixing?

This was the thought Honerva carried as she worked tirelessly to awaken her husband. Yet the moment his eyes opened he did not look at her any differently. Nor did he react to her informing him that Voltron has poisoned Lotor’s mind and turned him against them. Instead his scarred face darkened and he growled, “He has chosen his side. Inform the Empire, Prince Lotor is no longer one of us. He is to be eliminated like any other rebel.”

Honerva felt a cold hand grip her long-dead heart, in that moment realizing that while Zarkon might remember their past, he clearly felt nothing for it. He was a changed man just like her. However where her maternal feelings for Lotor were on the forefront of her mind, nothing like that was in the man before her. Her husband had died in the quintessence field and this was just his shadow.

“Sire,” She said, the hope she’d felt prior dying out in her heart. “It would be wise to instead capture Prince Lotor. The information he has on Voltron would prove valuable to the Empire.”

“Anything you could extract would be of no use to us. He would sooner lie than sell out his companions.” Zarkon stopped beside his witch, glaring down at her. “He is a stain upon the Empire that I want removed.”

Honerva’s frown deepened slightly before she lowered her head in submission. “Yes sire.”

With that Zarkon swept out of the room, newly powered suit hissing as he went. Honerva continued standing there for a moment longer before she clenched her hand into a fist. She used her magic to tug on one of the threads connecting her to her Druids. Not a moment later a Druid answered her call by appearing behind her.

“ _Mistress Haggar_.”

“Tell the others that should they find Prince Lotor, they are to bring him to me.”

“ _And what of his generals?_ ”

Honerva barely looked at her Druid before exiting the room, leaving behind her cold words. “They are of no use to me. Kill them.”

From there time passed at a crawl. No one had any information on where Lotor’s ship was. Any sightings of it proved fruitless when they were investigated. It was annoyingly frustrating to see how well the Prince could hide from detection. He truly was playing it cautious after being discovered as a traitor. 

Finding him became Honerva’s top priority. It was shocking how easy it was for her focus to change from Zarkon to her son. But then again perhaps it was because the man she had loved already stopped existing. With her eyes no longer shrouded from her memories, Honerva was free to choose. The innate loyalty she felt for Zarkon dried up the moment she realized the man beside her wasn’t her mate. When she had woken up without her memories, she had only taken one look at Zarkon before she felt a pull to follow him. That pull had guided many of her actions and had driven her unquestionable loyalty up till this point. But now she could finally put a name to that feeling. And with it she realized the pull she felt was for the Galra she had married, not the one before her. The Zarkon she knew was dead and Lotor was the last shred of his memory she had. Honerva would not let her child disappear too. 

Nearly a full phoeb since Lotor had gone into hiding, the Prince slipped up. One of Honerva’s Druids had appeared to her, injured heavily. He had told her that Lotor’s ship attacked the secret base she’d kept hidden from everyone excluding her Druids; her cloning facility. Everything was destroyed. Every scrap of DNA pulled from the original, the clones, it all went up in flames. However what Lotor didn’t realize was that he had missed a ship in the ensuing chaos. A lone fighter, broken and barely holding together, managed to follow him and send out a distress signal.

Hearing this had Honerva quickly rushing to the command center’s main room under the pretense of informing Zarkon of this. If someone picked up the ship’s distress signal and they found Lotor then they would no doubt call to inform Zarkon. Honerva needed to see if this was the case or if she could secretly send out her own followers to retrieve the Prince.

Yet of course it was not to be. One of the commanding generals, Plurg, had just finished informing Zarkon by the time Honerva appeared. And just like that Zarkon was giving out orders to the entire Galra fleet to take down Prince Lotor. Honerva watched from beside Zarkon, clenched hands hidden beneath her sleeves. “Sire, perhaps it would be wise to bring in his ship rather than destroy it?”

“There is no need. He will die in the explosion.”

“But sire, what if he is not even in the ship? This could just be a decoy meant to trick us into thinking he has perished.”

It was hard to tell what expression Zarkon was giving her beneath his helmet. Whatever the case, his gaze did not linger long. With a half-growl and a sharp wave of his hand, Zarkon instantly had the attention of the room. “Fine. Bring Prince Lotor’s ship to me. I will execute him myself.”

And that was what led to this moment. Lotor’s ship had been retrieved and dragged back to Zarkon’s command center. It was smoking despite the fire having been put out an entire varga ago. But only now was it deemed safe enough to explore to see if Lotor or his generals had survived the attack. 

Honerva had joined the search, no one daring to question her presence. They simply accepted the fact that Zarkon’s most loyal follower was here to either oversee the search or sense out any living bodies. Throughout their examination there was no sign of anyone. It was almost as if they’d vanished. And as the group made their way to the ship’s hangar, Honerva froze just at the entrance. All around the room she could _feel_ that quintessence. It was like insects crawling all over her from the way it made her skin tingle.

“He escaped.” Honerva said, internally seething.

“How is that possible? He would’ve been blown to smithereens if he left the ship.” One soldier commented with a little trepidation.

“Or spotted.” Added another.

“Voltron has access to wormholes.” Honerva closed her eyes, warping herself away and back by Zarkon’s side. She lowered herself in a bow, “Sire.”

After informing him of Lotor’s escape, Zarkon sent out the order to track him down and bring him as a prisoner. Apparently the Prince escaping capture with the help of Voltron was enough of an insult for Zarkon to want to personally see to his execution. There was only further insult when sightings of Lotor began popping up in Voltron’s Show of Arms. That had Zarkon’s ire reaching new heights, something everyone was subject to suffer from.

After the battle for Naxzela and the revelations of the Altean fighters and a sixth Lion, Honerva was beginning to realize things were only going to get more complicated. The loss of their scientist prisoners was just another blow to the Galra. Voltron was hitting the Empire where it hurt and they were left scrambling to pick up the pieces. At this rate the Galra were going to be left scrambling to keep ahold of their territories. It could not continue like this.

Nearly three phoebs after the failed capture of Lotor, Honerva finally deemed it time to try and seek out Oriande. If she could get more power then she could eliminate Voltron. If she eliminated Voltron, she could be rid of Yorak. Surely with him gone, Lotor will willingly return to her side. They could start over, become a family. All she had to do was remove the obstacles. First Yorak, then Zarkon.

There was no possible way Zarkon would allow Lotor to live after Voltron was defeated. And just as much as Zarkon wanted Lotor to die, Honerva wanted the opposite. The man parading around in Zarkon’s skin was trying to remove every last shred of the former Galra he used to be. Lotor was a reminder of his past, the last representation of the love he’d felt for Honerva, his one weakness. And just like he had said to the Prince all those years ago, his weakness had long since died. At the time Honerva did not understand nor did she remember, but now she did. And with her newfound understanding she realized that Zarkon had been wrong with his initial wording. It wasn’t that his weakness had died, it was that he’d cast aside his weakness. For the sake of the Empire he was content in having Honerva never remember who she used to be. Honerva could have died for him as Haggar and he would not have shed a tear. It was a sobering thought that helped dictate Honerva’s following actions.

She’d told Zarkon she had discovered a potential source of power that could turn the tides against Voltron. With his blessing she took a battle cruiser to investigate these founding’s. The soldiers aboard the ship were visibly restless when Honerva ordered them to continue onwards into the white hole. But they were in no position to try and dissuade her from her goals. 

Honerva stared straight ahead, hands tingling as she slowly gathered forth her powers. Around her, her remaining Druids did the same. They felt the pulse of energy coming towards them first before they saw it. However that was all the warning Honerva needed before she let loose her energy directly into the ship. Whatever it was approaching them seemed to be struck back by the magic Honerva had imbued the ship with. This gave them the proper opening they needed and without a fight they were slipping into the torrential waves of the white hole.

It was silent for a moment, no one daring to breathe least it break the delicate calm placed over them. And then suddenly in the white vortex something manifested. Honerva instantly recognized the head of an Altean Lion and realized this was the Guardian spoken of in legends. The second its jaws parted and a condensed beam shot out, Honerva shouted “Now!”

Around her the Druids raised their hands and shot forth their magic. It struck Honerva and she directed it like a conduit into the ship. Her ragged yell accompanied the sound of the cruiser’s cannon powering up. Purple tendrils of electricity crackled all over with Honerva at the center. And just as the Guardian’s beam was halfway towards them, the cruiser fired. 

The blast was powerful as it was made of the corrupted quintessence from several Druids and Honerva. It ripped through the Guardian’s attack and dispelled it like harmless wisps of smoke. The cannon fire continued forward till it struck the Guardian and it, like its attack, disappeared from sight. 

Honerva’s Druids quickly stopped feeding her their magic and she barely managed to not teeter forward from the abrupt cutoff. She inhaled, small tremors traveling up her arms. Then with a voice edged in steel she ordered them to charge forward. They met no more obstacles after that and continued past where the Guardian had appeared from. 

With a flash they were suddenly exiting the white hole and emerging on the other side. Before them lay a landscape swathed in purple and pink hues, an entire ecosystem on the other side of the white hole. 

As the Galra cruiser flew for the only visible structure they could see, Honerva felt a curl of satisfaction settle in her gut. It was here she would get the strength to defeat Voltron. She would surpass both Princess Allura and Yorak with her magic. With her own hands she will carve a path to the future she envisioned. A future with her son as Emperor and her striking down all that opposed him. She would make that vision a reality no matter the cost.


	18. The Quintessence Stolen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here they are on Oriande and the battle is to start, but it isn't going to be as easy. They have to stick together and have each other's backs, least one of them threatens to fall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: The beginning of the battle! Visions from part 1 have finally begun to pay off! It's exciting :> Hope you all like this chapter! Only one more chapter before I can safely say part 2 is complete! Are y'all excited for this end? I know I am! I will say in this chapter and the next that once part 2 is one I will be taking a break before starting part 3. I seriously want to finish my other fic. It's been months since I updated it because I've been focusing solely on Voltron. Sooo yeah! Please don't comment demanding when will I start uploading part 3. At this point in time I really don't know :> But anyways thank you for reading! See you next week!

With a flash Keith appeared in front of the white hole, breathing erratic and sweat beading at his temple. Shiro’s voice came through his Lion just as he was shooting forward, “ _Keith! We’re coming right behind you. Allura’s opening up a wormhole for us right now._ ”

“Got it! Just hurry!” 

Keith didn’t know how long it’d been since that vision took place. For all he knew it was just an image of the future. But the pure panic Keith was feeling didn’t seem like a glimpse of what’s to come. No, Keith was near positive that the Guardian sent him that as it was happening. Meaning every second wasted was another second Haggar was in Oriande.

Logically he knew that the Guardian couldn’t turn Haggar away if she was deemed worthy. Any Altean with the potential were able to access Oriande no matter their moral standing. That meant that if she was considered worthy by the Guardian’s standards, then there was nothing either of them could do.

Keith entered Oriande at a breakneck speed, not pausing as he zipped across the skies. He was nearly flung from his seat when he abruptly stopped mid-flight. In the distance he could see a Galra battle cruiser hovering just above Oriande’s temple. His heart plummeted and a chill swept down Keith’s spine. And then suddenly there was a sharp spike of pain and what sounded like hundreds of voices screaming directly into his head. Keith’s own cry of pain joined the shrill sounds, his hands slapping over his sensitive ears in a futile attempt to block it out. 

“ _Keith! Keith what’s wrong?! Keith!_ ”

“ _Yorak just hold on! We’re entering the white hole now!_ ”

The voices overlapped with the ones shrieking in his head, too loud for him to make out. Tears of pain spilled from his eyes as Keith struggled to open them. His breath hitched, gaze zeroing in on the source of his pain. 

There in the center of the courtyard stood several people. From this far up in the air Keith couldn’t say who it was, but his gut told him it was Haggar. The woman was surrounded by her Druids, magic crackling around them as a large purple orb hovered above her. Inside the prison of magic slowly formed the White Lion, its ethereal body twisting and snarling as it was kept in the confinement. There was a single moment where time seemed to slow, Keith’s breath hitching and his heart stopping all at once. Then Haggar unleashed her magic, the purple quintessence shooting up and latching onto the orb surrounding the Guardian of Oriande. 

Keith felt the pain the moment it hit. He threw his head back, nails scraping against his console as he screamed his throat raw. It felt like he was being ripped apart from the inside out. Like claws digging into his gut and shredding everything in sight. It felt like every nerve was on fire and was being pulled from his body piece by piece. 

Then all at once the feeling was snuffed out; and with it Keith’s consciousness. His knees hit the floor, eyes rolling into the back of his head before he collapsed. Around him the lights of the White Lion faded and it fell from the sky, plummeting to the ground with no life to pilot it. 

Voltron and the Avok Fighters appeared just in time to witness the drop, screams of Keith’s name being met with silence. However before anyone could make an attempt to try and catch Keith before he hit the ground, their attention was suddenly diverted. The Galra cruiser had just unleashed its fighters and was charging its cannon, preparing to fire upon the newcomers.

“ _Evasive maneuvers!_ ” Shiro shouted just as the fighting began.

“ _What about Keith?!_ ”

“ _I’ll get to him_ ,” Krolia spoke up, tone hard. “ _Just get me close enough_.”

In the next moment Black was twisting out of the way from fighter fire, blasting a few ships before swooping low near the White Lion. A port then opened on Black’s chest, dropping a figure that shot like a bullet towards the White Lion before slowing their fall with a jetpack.

“ _Let’s take out that cruiser_!” Lance yelled, Red’s tail lashing angrily as she clamped her jaws around a fighter and chucked it into another one.

From the ground Honerva slowly pulled herself to stand, the last wispy white strands of the Guardian’s quintessence flowing into her. She could feel the Guardian’s energy swirling inside her like a storm threatening to burst. But then as the seconds passed the roiling energy was chipped away bit by bit and eventually dragged into her own. Eventually there was nothing left of the Guardian’s quintessence, only the power it left behind.

“ _Mistress Haggar, Voltron is here along with the sixth Lion_.” Spoke one of her Druids, taking a step closer with some hesitation.

Honerva exhaled, opening her eyes and looking towards the skies where the battle continued to rage. On occasion cruiser’s cannon would fire, not managing to hit anything and only making their foes scatter. Her eyes narrowed before eventually her gaze dropped to the White Lion laying prone on the floor. She stared at it for a long moment before her hand raised, magic crackling in the air. 

A spark flashed in the Lion’s eyes and suddenly the lights along its body lit up in a sickly purple hue. The Lion rumbled, mechanical body scraping against the ground as it pulled itself to stand. Honerva found herself smirking as the Lion’s tail lashed with agitation. She could feel it, the way her quintessence flowed to control this machine. It was but an empty vessel, no mind resisting her hold. It was at her mercy. **Voltron** was at her mercy. 

The White Lion growled before it shot itself up into the air. Wind whistled past as it stretched out its front paws and parted its jaws in a roar.

“ _Woah! Keith’s up!_ ” Lance exclaimed, his laugh of relief cut off the moment the White Lion slammed into Red. 

There was a boom as the Red Lion smashed into a floating isle, clouds of dust and debris raining everywhere. Instantly both Voltron and the Avok Fighters were pulling back in confusion.

“ _What’s going on?!_ ”

“ _Keith! Why’d you attack Lance?_ ”

“ _Yeah, what gives?_ ”

But there came no response from White. Instead they turned around and shot off across the sky. They slammed into Blue, knocking her into an oncoming fighter that promptly exploded. 

“ _Yorak!_ ” Allura yelled, only able to pull Blue from her spinning thanks to the help of Yellow. 

“ _Something’s wrong with Keith!_ ” Shiro shouted, boosting Black towards the attacking Lion.

“ _No shit!_ ”

Black stretched their paws forward with the intent to try and grab a hold of White. Hopefully if it couldn’t move then they could try and figure out what’s happening. However before Shiro even reached White, the Lion was dipping down and disappearing into a wormhole. 

“ _Shiro look out!_ ”

Black’s head snapped up just in time to see White emerging from a wormhole directly above. The Lion slammed into them with more force than should be possible for such a small Lion. Together Black and White collided with the ground of a floating chunk of land. White then jumped from Black and darted into another portal, appearing in the fray to attack again.

Voltron scrambled to react to the attacks, none of them wanting to shoot at Keith for fear of injuring the Altean inside. However this left them vulnerable to attacks by both the fighters and the White Lion. 

While Voltron focused on Keith, the Avok Fighters continued blasting away at the cruiser and hoping to draw most of the attention. 

“ _What do we do? Yorak’s attacking them_!” Ezor called over the com’s. 

“I don’t think it’s Yorak that’s controlling the White Lion. Have you not noticed the lights are a different colour _?_ ” Lotor dipped beneath the belly of the cruiser, letting loose fire that was absorbed by the shield. He grimaced, twisting his ship to spin away from the Galra fighters tailing him. As Lotor passed by the temple of Oriande he suddenly noticed the figures standing there and the way one in particular had their arm raised out towards the fighting Lions.

He cursed, redirecting his attention to what was no doubt Haggar. “Zarkon’s witch is controlling the White Lion! She’s at the temple!!”

Lance barely dodged a swipe of White’s claws, Red flying high into the sky and twisting to avoid the other. “ _Well what do we do_?!”

“ _I’m… Working on it!_ ” Krolia suddenly spoke, her voice crackling with static. The Galra had been clinging to White this whole time, only just barely managing to not get knocked off. She’d been clinging to White’s head, her Marmora blade stabbed into the side of the machine and at least giving her something of a foothold. But even that was a temporary solution as the blade was slowly growing loose. 

Krolia was waiting for any kind of opening to slip into the Lion’s mouth. It was the best way to get to the cockpit, however it was also equally as dangerous. One wrong move and either Krolia would be crushed in its mouth or she’d be slipping and falling away. 

“ _A little help please!_ ” Allura shouted as White punted Blue into the ground. The Lion then rose on its back legs, ready to repeat the action when they were suddenly knocked to the side by an energy beam.

Green hovered there, Pidge tense in her seat as she faced off against White. “Come at me!”

And like she could hear the taunt, Honerva set her sights on the Green Lion. White shot forward and Pidge only had a moment to dodge before the chase was on. Pidge let out a curse as she tried desperately to outmaneuver the other. She flew around cliffs and dipped between canyons, darting under floating ground, anything to get away from the possessed White.

Suddenly those snapping jaws finally closed around Green’s tail. The bulkier Lion jolted as she was yanked backwards before Pidge picked up Green’s boosters and continued to power forward. Both White and Green were left in a stalemate of tug-of-war, neither budging an inch as Green flew forward and White flew back. 

With the vibrations from the strain traveling through both Lion’s, Krolia stood on wobbly legs before she yanked out her sword and began sprinting up White’s head. She slid down the side of its muzzle and used a boost of her jetpack to fly in the gap between White’s jaws clamped around Green’s tail. 

“ _I’m in!_ ” She yelled before holstering her weapon and sprinting further in.

“Good! Now do something about White!!” Pidge growled through clenched teeth. All along her screen alarms were going off, her thrusters threatening to give out if one of them didn’t yield soon. 

Then all of a sudden another alarm came to life just as Hunk yelled in a panic, “ _Pidge look out!!!_ ”

Pidge’s eyes snapped to the side when a light swiftly flooded her cockpit. In a single instant her brain made the connection that White had held her in place for the cruiser’s cannon before the shot landed. She screamed, power dying in Green as Pidge lost consciousness. White let go, watching the Lion hit the ground and form a crater.

She didn’t know how long she’d been unconscious for. It was probably only seconds but it felt like hours. Her ears were ringing painfully and she could taste blood in her mouth. Her breath came out in shallow pants, eyes struggling to peel themselves open. Her vision was blurry and she could barely make out the sounds of battle and her team yelling to get her attention.

Pidge blinked hard, trying to clear her vision. Why was it so blurry? Did she hit her head somewhere? Probably. She fleetingly hoped she wasn’t concussed or that was going to be a serious problem. 

She groaned, grabbing Green’s controls and nudging them. “Come on girl… We gotta get up.”

The sudden smell of grass was accompanied by the familiar purr in the back of her mind. Pidge breathed a small sigh of relief at that. With a smile she watched as Green’s lights slowly flickered on, though they were faint as if Green was exhausted.

Just as Pidge was opening her mouth to offer further encouragement to the Lion, something heavy slammed down in front of them. Pidge flinched and nearly whimpered at the sharp spike of pain that caused. As her vision slowly began to clear, Pidge realized what was in front of her. The White Lion towered over them, casting Green in shadow and glaring down with glowing purple eyes. 

Pidge’s breath hitched and she furiously began jiggling Green’s controls. “Move!! We gotta move!! Green!”

But there was no moving Green. Her metal creaked as if she too was straining to stand and was met with no results. In mounting horror Pidge watched White open its jaws and lurch forward. She cried out, hands coming up to protect her face out of pure instinct. However after a moment she realized whatever attack she’d been expecting had yet to come. With great trepidation Pidge peeked past her arm, breath hitching at the sight.

Blue and Black stood on other side of White, pressing the mass of their bulk into the Lion’s side while Red stood perched on its back. From behind Pidge could see Yellow grabbing ahold of White’s tail and holding the Lion in place. The sheer relief she felt seemed to be what she needed to take a moment and gather herself.

The ringing in her ears gradually eased and the frantic yells of her team come in loud and clear. “ _Pidge! Answer us!_ ”

“ _Are you alright?!_ ”

She coughed, inhaling deep before speaking. “I’m fine! You guys really saved my hide.”

“ _Don’t thank us yet! White won’t stop squirming!_ ” Hunk said with a strained grunt.

“ _Krolia, what’s your status?_ ”

When Pidge had been shot with the cannon, Krolia had just made it to White’s cockpit. She slapped the door panel, impatiently waiting for it to open before she was sprinting in. When Krolia rounded the chair she felt her heart skip a beat.

Keith was on the ground, unconscious and looking impossibly small curled into a ball. In a single breath she felt as if she had been transported back to that day nearly 19 years ago. The first time she’d laid eyes on Keith she couldn’t believe what she was seeing. How had someone so small been able to pilot this grand beast? A Lion that was like Voltron and yet not? It had boggled her mind till Keith had shown her who he was. From that moment she vowed to help this child no matter the cost. And somewhere along the way she ended up adopting him, her devotion growing even fiercer.

Krolia dropped to her knees beside Keith and lifted him up into her arms. His face was scrunched in pain and tears were leaving a steady trail down his cheeks. She tutted softly, brushing his bangs from his sweaty face.

Krolia glanced up and saw just as White lunged for the downed Green Lion. Her gasp of shock was cut off from something slamming into White on either side. Then a heavy force dropped from above, knocking Krolia to the ground. She kept her arms wrapped tightly around Keith, protecting his head from smacking the floor. 

All around them metal creaked from the strain of White trying to escape its sudden confinement. Through the growls Krolia heard Shiro from her headset, the Black Paladin asking her status. 

She shoved herself up to kneel, “I’ve got Keith. He’s unconscious, something must have happened.”

“ _Well can you wake him up?! We’re sitting ducks like this and the Avok fighters can only do so much!_ ”

There was an audible snarl that no doubt came from Zethrid, the Galra spitting out curses left and right. “ _I can’t find an opening to fire my cannon and get through the quiznaking shield!!_ ”

“ _Just focus on drawing their attention from Voltron. When the White Lion is no longer a threat we can work on giving you cover._ ”

Lotor was right. White would remain a priority so long as it was still a threat. The Lion was able to make wormholes big enough for Voltron, though with some strain. If Haggar figured out how to make wormholes bigger than the ones she was currently making, then she could bring in backup at any moment. 

Krolia’s face hardened and she reared back her hand, whispering a soft apology before striking Keith across the face with a sharp crack. She figured that if their earlier jostling wasn’t going to wake the Altean then perhaps a sharp burst of pain might. Her assumption proved correct as suddenly Keith’s eyes were snapping open and he was lurching forward with a ragged gasp.

“ **Keith**!” Krolia gripped him by the face and forced him to look at her, grounding him in the moment. “ **Focus on me, follow my breathing**.” 

Keith kept his eyes focused on Krolia till his gasping breaths eventually evened out into something more manageable. When he didn’t seem on the brink of passing out from hyperventilating she helped pull her son up to stand. 

“ **How are you feeling? Anything broken?** ”

Keith absently shook his head before he raised a hand to his chest, brows furrowed. “ **No… I… The Guardian—!** ” Keith cut off, eyes snapping to look out the window. His breath hitched and he placed his hands on the consol so he could lean forward in disbelief. “ **What happened?!** Pidge! Are you ok?!”

When there was no response Keith realized he was no longer connected to Voltron’s communications. Not just that, but he wasn’t even connected to the White Lion. “What…?” How long had he been unconscious? Keith turned wide, lost eyes to Krolia, desperately trying to figure out what happened.

Krolia’s expression was grim as she gestured around them, “They say Zarkon’s witch has control of the White Lion. It has been attacking the others.”

Keith cursed, only then noticing the purple tinging the usually blue and white lights. He shook his head and pressed more firmly against the consol. Righteous anger filled Keith like boiling lava. It flooded his heart and spilled over, burning liquid coursing through his body and lighting him up from the inside. He bared his teeth, gathering his quintessence till there was a visible shimmer against his body. 

How dare she. How _dare_ she turn his creation against his friends. How _dare_ she invade Oriande and treat this sacred place with such disrespect. How **dare** she kill— Keith’s hands clenched into fists, his shoulders shaking.

Violet eyes widened and Krolia took a half-step back, watching the power roll off Keith in waves. Her thin fur felt like standing on end from how charged the air had become. It was oppressive and comforting all in one, Keith’s quintessence wrapping around them like a blanket. And then with all the strength he could muster, Keith shoved it directly into White.

“ _Get. Out. Of my Lion!!!_ ” 

A searing pain struck Honerva, the Altean crying out sharply as she dropped to her knees and clutched at her head. It had felt like someone had taken a blade to her brain, directly attacking her quintessence. Like a line pulled taut, her control on the White Lion snapped. The purple light was washed away by a burning gold that flared along the Lion’s body like a beacon.

“Guys!” Keith yelled the moment his quintessence cleared out any trace of Haggar’s.

“ _Keith! You’re awake!!_ ”

“ _About time!_ ”

“ _Oh man are we glad to hear you! What happened?_ ”

Around him the Lions eased up on their hold. Together they flew back up into the sky, Green having had enough time to power up fully and join them. White’s head glanced around, seeing the damage from the fight and how it was still raging. There was loud booms of the cruiser’s cannon firing with the hope to hit one of the Avok Fighters. Galra fighters were still scrambling after them, a few branching off to attack Voltron only to be taken out by Avok 1 and 2.

With gritted teeth Keith’s growl was echoed by his Lion, “Haggar. She’s absorbed the Guardian’s quintessence to gain more power.”

“ _She can do that?!_ ” Lance sputtered in disbelief.

“Apparently!! I don’t think this is the first time she’s done it either.”

“ _Keith_ ,” Shiro spoke, instantly capturing Keith’s attention. “ _What do we need to do?_ ”

Keith inhaled, eyes narrowing and face twisting into a snarl. “Take out the Galra cruiser; then get down there and fight Haggar and her Druids!”

“ _Why don’t you let_ _ **us**_ _handle the cruiser?_ ”

The new voice was accompanied by a bright blue beam blasting through the air and striking the Galra battle cruiser. The shield was activated, taking most of the hit but flaring in warning to the damage it sustained. The few enemy fighters unfortunate enough not to dodge were caught in the blast and promptly blown up in little bursts of fire. 

The source of that attack was none other than the Castle of Lions, the massive castle descending from the skies with three rebel ships at its side. On everyone’s screens appeared two separate images of Matt and Coran, Romelle peeking at the screen from behind Coran’s shoulder.

“ _Need a hand?_ ” Matt asked with a grin.

“ _Matt!_ Coran _!_ ”

“How’d they get here?”

Coran grinned, twirling his mustache with a cackle. “ _There’s quite a bit of Allura’s quintessence still in the ship! So I simply gave the call and brought in some help! Now then,_ ” His eyes narrowed and he slammed his hands forward, another blast leaving the castle ship and landing directly on the cruiser, shattering its shield like glass. “ _Go take out Haggar!_ ”

Keith’s grin widened and he nodded, the images cutting out before he was delivering orders. “Voltron, on me! We’re going down there and finishing this battle! Avok, you help the rebels take out the fighters!”

“ _Got it!_ ”

As Keith shot White forward with the rest of Voltron at his heels, he glanced to the side at Krolia. “Still remember how to pilot White?”

She cracked a crooked grin, “I’ll be a little rusty.”

“So long as you can fight, you’re good.” Keith said as his mother moved to stand beside him. Just as he was lifting his hands from the consol she grabbed ahold of his shoulder, giving him a serious look. 

“Come back to me, understand?”

Krolia’s other hand raised and Keith looked down to see her Marmora dagger being presented to him. The Altean swallowed, taking the blade and slipping it into the empty sheath on his waist. “I will.”

He was pulled into a brief hug before Keith stepped back and yanked up his hood, mask appearing. And then he turned on his heel and sprinted from the cockpit, Krolia taking control over White. She flew above the temple and opened White’s cargo doors. As she darted up into the air with the other Lions and twisted around, Krolia saw a total of seven figures dropping from the sky and shooting towards the structure of Oriande. 

“ **Be safe, Kit.** ” Krolia whispered under her breath before using White’s boosts and joining the battle.


	19. The Quintessence Freed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's their chance to finally make a stand. If they fall here, Oriande does too. But not just Oriande, the rest of the universe might fall as well. They cannot afford to lose, not when they're so close to victory. In this battle there will be goodbyes, some harder than others. But it is not a goodbye forever, merely a farewell for now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: And this is the final chapter to part 2. I hope you all enjoy this chapter as I'm content with how it ended. There's just so many scenes in this chapter that I've been looking forward to writing. And finally having them down makes me wanna cry in relief! I don't know when I'll start part 3, probably not for another month or so. I generally want to finish my other fic now so we'll see. Keep an eye on my twitter for updates :> Thank you all so much for reading and sticking with me on this journey. Your support means everything to me and I'm so thankful for it. I wish you all well and I will see you next time~

“ _Stay on guard and watch each other’s backs! Haggar’s Druids can teleport_!” Keith ordered as the group of them plummeted towards Oriande. 

“ _Got it!_ ”

One by one they used their jetpacks to slow their descent. The moment their feet touched the ground they broke into a sprint, weapons drawn. They were met head-on by Haggar’s Druids, the magical beings drifting forward like wraiths to block their leader. 

Without hesitation the team split into groups of two, arms with arms and legs with legs. Shiro and Keith fell in step beside each other like a well-oiled machine. Here they would make their stand. Here they would rip away more of Zarkon’s power and send him crumbling. 

A single Druid on their own was already a big threat, the group of them had to face **seven** before they could reach Haggar. It was an uphill battle that they had no choice but to face. They had to end it here or else… Keith didn’t want to think about the potential outcomes. 

Lance dodged into a roll as a Druid threw a blast of magic his way. The next moment he changed his bayard into a blaster and fired off several rounds. The Druid disappeared, ready to launch another attack before its back was struck by an Altean whip. It cried out as it was slapped into the ground from the force of the attack. At the last moment the Druid disappeared, barely missing being struck by Lance’s blaster.

“Look out!” Allura shouted just in time for Lance to avoid a strike from behind.

He dove to the side while twisting around, firing off a blast that struck the attacking Druid in the chest. It choked on a gasp before its form exploded in a burst of light, little flecks of magic raining down and fading.

Lance grinned, momentarily lowering his blaster. “Alright I got one! Woah!!” He yelped as a second Druid appeared, striking out with a magic coated hand and knocking him to the side.

On the other end of the courtyard both Hunk and Pidge were facing against two Druids of their own. With his heavy-duty gun Hunk was able to keep the Druids moving and if they got too close Pidge would strike out. She dodged and slashed with both her bayard and scaultrite dagger, channeling the viciousness Keith taught to her. 

Pidge ducked her head, barely missing a blast of magic before she was striking out with her bayard. The blade shot out, the wire wrapping around the Druid’s body and electrifying it. It yelled out, jolting as the current wracked through its frame. With it being stunned, Pidge used this as her chance to strike. 

She ran forward and leapt up, scaultrite blade glinting in the light. With a yell Pidge slashed downwards, slicing through the energy rope of her bayard and right into the meat of the Druid. It’s body convulsed and it took a step back, hand raising just as Pidge landed. 

There was a split second where magic collected in the Druid’s hand before Hunk was rushing in and slamming his shoulder into it. The Druid stumbled back further and was unable to dodge as the Yellow Paladin shot off a condensed blast. It ripped through the Druid’s body, gravely weakening it. Not a moment later it collapsed forward and imploded, the second Druid letting out an annoyed growl before it attacked with renewed vigor.

As for Keith and Shiro, the two of them were facing off against the three remaining Druids. Haggar, it seemed, didn’t feel the need to attack along with her minions. Instead she wanted to stand back and see how this played out.

Keith and Shiro dodged around each other, using shields to block where the other was open. Together they managed to cover ground yet that was it. Against the teleporting druids they were boxed in on all sides, unable to attack without exposing themselves. 

Barely managing to dodge an attack, Keith bit back a curse. “ _This is going nowhere_!” He shouted to Shiro just as the other used his shield to block a magic blast.

“Tell me about it!” 

There was no one else they could ask to help, everyone else occupied in their own fight. As Keith dived to the side and slashed, the Druid teleporting away suddenly gave Keith an idea. Actually there _was_ someone they could ask for help.

Having nearly two deca-phoebs to perfect this skill, Keith pictured his wolf and the way its quintessence flowed. Then he sent a pulse of his own through the imprint his wolf had placed on him. Keith felt an answering flare in return that had him grinning.

Just as a Druid appeared before Keith, hand raised to strike with magic, there was a flash and the sudden smell of ozone. Keith’s wolf had appeared in the air behind the Druid and in a split second had its teeth clamped firmly in the Druid’s neck. The sudden weight had both slamming to the ground and the Druid let out a gurgling squeal that was drowned out by the cosmic wolf’s growling.

“ _Good boy_!” Keith yelled, grinning savagely as his wolf ripped its head back.

The Druid beneath it imploded just after his wolf teleported to stand by Keith’s side. His ears were back and his hackles raised, the smell of sulfur raising in the air in response to the wolf’s heightened aggression. Keith couldn’t help chuckling now that the odds were stacked in their favor.

Like Keith’s laugh was infectious, Shiro found himself cracking a grin. “Now I’m kinda glad you disappeared for three months if you came back with a pretty handy wolf.”

“ _Still two years for me, Shiro_.” Keith said despite the smile hidden beneath his Blade mask.

“Well next time you plan on disappearing, make sure to take me with you.”

Even though they were clearly in a situation they couldn’t afford to be distracted in, Keith couldn’t help but turn to look at Shiro. The Altean could clearly see the crooked smile Shiro was giving him and it made his heart squeeze.

He nodded, flexing the grip on his dagger. “ _I will_.”

And with that they were back in the thick of it. With Keith’s wolf helping, the tide of battle was quickly changed. He kept close to Keith, warping the two of them around the Druids just as frequently as they teleported. Keith would’ve had his wolf teleport Shiro as well, however the other wasn’t used to the warping. Keith had two deca-phoebs to get used to it, Shiro hasn’t.

Keith twirled his blade, striking out against a Druid only for it to disappear at the last minute. He felt the energy spike behind him before the Druid even fully materialized. However just as Keith was pivoting on his heel to strike, the Druid let out a cry and jerked to the side from a blaster fire hitting it directly in the shoulder. 

The Druid warped away, reappearing at a safer distance and clutching its injured shoulder. Keith’s head whipped around to see where the shot came from and saw Lance in the distance, bayard having transformed into a sniper rifle. He flashed a grin to Keith and a two fingered salute before focusing on taking shots from afar. At his side stood Allura, acting as defense for Lance in case a Druid tried to take him out.

As the battle continued it was clear the Druids were losing. They had started out with the advantage and now they’d been whittled down to only three. Keith’s wolf had teleported over to help Pidge and Hunk, somehow ending up with Pidge riding on his back like a steed. The two dashed after the Druids, snapping jaws and slashing blades turning them into a whirlwind of danger. 

Just as the wolf launched itself at a Druid a blast of magic came flying and slamming into the two of them. Pidge was knocked from the wolf’s back and hit the ground hard, the two yelping in pain from the impact.

“Pidge!!”

As the team rushed to help them up, they watched the remaining Druids appear together. They were visibly injured, some clinging to bloody limbs or burned clothes. Then they slowly parted, Haggar stepping past them with magic still crackling in her hands. She was finally here to intervene. 

“ _Mistress Haggar_ ,” One of the Druids coughed, turning their cracked mask to her. “ _We should retreat now. We have what we came for_.”

“Silence.”

“ _But mistress Ha—_!” The Druid was cut off with a choked scream as Haggar raised her hand and sent a wave of magic over it. 

When the blast was cut off the Druid stood for a moment before collapsing forward, body smoking like cooked meat. The remaining two Druids stiffened and took their own steps away from their fallen comrade. Haggar didn’t seem to care that she’d just killed one of her minions. She could do whatever she wanted to them. After all it’s thanks to her they’re able to use magic in the first place. She made them what they are.

Haggar stood there, staring straight at Keith and ignoring the others around them. Slowly her hands raised, grasping the edge of her hood. When she slowly pulled it back the group watched in shock as the purple began bleeding from her skin and instead left behind only tanned skin. Her eyes continued to burned a pupil-less gold and the markings down her face were still like slashes and not small crescents, yet there was no denying that the woman before them was indeed Altean like Allura had said.

Keith’s brows furrowed, staring at her face. Then like someone lit a match, a spark in his memory had him recalling instantly who this was. He sucked in a sharp breath, palms sweating beneath his suit.

“ _Honerva_.”

The Paladins of Voltron looked to Keith, then back to Haggar. Allura’s brows were furrowed and she seemed to be desperately trying to find answers. “H-Honerva as in… The alchemist? Zarkon’s… Wife?”

“But wasn’t she supposed to be dead?” Lance moved closer, weapon lowering as he stood beside his team.

From across the distance Honerva tilted her head, “I never was.” She slowly stepped forward, cloak swishing around her like blackened waves. Her white hair was a stark contrast, spilling down her back like a drifting comet. “I was surprised to learn that Alfor’s daughter and intended survived the war. But imagine my surprise when I learned you were also alive; Oriande’s Chosen.”

Keith tensed, eyes narrowed as he watched her movements. He didn’t like how this was going, what this meant. If Haggar was Honerva this whole time then… Lotor. He couldn’t know this, he shouldn’t. He believed his mother had died thousands of deca-phoebs ago. Lotor already viewed one parent as turning into a monster, he didn’t need to learn another one had as well.

Just as Keith was about to say something in the communications to make sure the Prince didn’t come down here, there was a deafening boom. Everyone looked up to see the large Galra cruiser light up with a scattering of explosions. The metal creaked and groan as it dropped from the sky in a fiery light, an even bigger explosion consuming it the moment it crashed into the ground.

“ _Mistress Haggar! We have lost our ship! This is a fight we cannot win!_ ” One of her Druids said, voice pitching upwards from panic. “ _We must retreat!_ ”

“Flee if you want to,” She snapped, only glaring at them for a moment before her eyes drifted back to Keith, “I will see this through till the end.”

Both Druids looked at each other, clearly hesitating. One shook their head, straightening their shoulders like they refused to abandon their mistress. However the second and more heavily injured Druid merely warped from sight. Either it was due to cowardice or knowing they would be useless in their current state. Whatever the reason, that only narrowed down their targets to two.

There was a crackle through the Paladin’s communicators and then Lotor’s voice was spilling in. “ _Voltron, we have taken care of the fighters and cruiser. What is your status?_ ”

“Don’t come down here!”

Keith’s yell had everyone staring at him with wide eyes. But he was too busy panicking to care. His head snapped up in a desperate attempt to find where Lotor’s ship was up in the sky.

“Lotor, **don’t** come down here.” 

Honerva chuckled, the air around her crackling with purple magic. Keith could feel the spike of quintessence in the air, him and Allura readying for the oncoming attack. The rest of Voltron mimicked them and readied for whatever was coming.

The corrupted Altean didn’t seem to care what the rest of Voltron was doing, she only had eyes for Keith. She slowly tensed, “Why don’t you invite him down? Let my son see as I kill the one who has been poisoning his **mind**!!!”

As she yelled the last part Honerva launched forward, teleporting past the rest of Voltron and appearing directly in front of Keith. She struck out with a punch, smashing her quintessence coated fist into his face and sending him back with a crack. 

Keith’s back connected with one of the temple’s pillars, cracks blooming around him from the force of the impact. He coughed, lifting his head in time to see Honerva appear, leg poised to kick him. In a flash of blue his wolf materialized between him and Honerva just in time for Keith to grab onto its fur and avoid the strike. The two appeared back beside Voltron, Keith wobbling for a moment.

“ _Avoid getting hit as much as you can. She’s got the Guardian’s quintessence amplifying her magic and Altean strength._ ” He rubbed his chest before crouching low, brandishing his blade. “ _One hit could snap your ribs._ ”

“Their Paladin armor will absorb most of the impact.” Allura chided though she too sent a concerned glance at her human friends. 

“ _Either way keep your distance. Only attack when you know you can._ ” He couldn’t risk losing anyone here. From that kick alone he knew Honerva was aiming to kill. Each fight they’ve been in before had risks, sure. But Keith’s painfully aware of the more dire possibilities this battle holds.

If Keith dies here, Oriande will crumble. Honerva consuming the Guardian’s quintessence did more damage than she probably thought possible. Without the Guardian Oriande will cease to be. And right now Keith was the only thing holding it together. With his little piece of the Guardian he was the one in control of this place. And to prevent it from crumbling away to nothing, Keith was going to make sure it was Voltron that ended up victorious.

The battle against Honerva was as one-sided as could be. With her warping and throwing magic left and right it was hard to get close enough to land an attack. Not only that, but they had to focus on the last remaining Druid. It did everything it could to distract the Paladins of Voltron so that Honerva could attack Keith uninterrupted. It was very apparent who her sole target was amongst the group.

Talking to her would’ve been pointless. She was deranged, attacking with a single-minded focus. Her prey was right in front of her. If she could kill him, she’d be one step closer to getting her son the future he deserved. She’d be closer to reaching her goal. Honerva only need to kill Yorak!

“ _Pathetic_ ,” Honerva growled, grabbing Keith by the hair. His Marmora mask had gotten damaged sometime during the fight and had shorted out, leaving his face bare. “ _To believe you would be such a thorn in my side._ ”

Keith bit back a yell, gritting his teeth as he was yanked upwards. “ _What’s your goal, Honerva? Get more power for Zarkon? Help him wipe out what remains of Alteans?_ ”

“ _My goals have nothing to do with Zarkon. This is all for my son._ ” Honerva’s eyes narrowed and she slammed Keith’s head forward into the ground. “ _The_ _ **son**_ _you stole from me._ ”

“ _Stole?_ ” Keith growled into the dirt, dragging his hand up and grabbing her wrist. “ _You and Zarkon were the ones to turn your back on him. That boy is_ _ **mine**_ _! I_ _ **raised**_ _him!_ ”

“ _You lied to him! Made him turn his back on his people!_ ”

Keith glared up at her, blue blood trickling from the corner of his mouth and down his nose. “ _Bit hypocritical, don’t you think Honerva? How much Altean blood is on your hands? How many of your people have_ _ **you**_ _turned your back on?_ ”

Honerva’s grip tightened and she growled, gathering magic into the palm of her other hand. Keith’s words clearly struck a blow where it hurt. She had no retort to give him other than another magic-laced attack. It was time she ended this anyways.

“Yorak!!”

Honerva sensed the approaching projectile and warped away just as a sword went hurtling through where she’d just been. It struck the ground with a heavy thunk and Keith’s breath hitched when he saw the familiar blade. He looked up just as Lotor ran the last few feet to reach him, the Galra Prince bending down and hoisting Keith up to stand.

“I told you not to come down here!” Keith snapped, half-heartedly shrugging off Lotor’s hold.

“And I ignored you. Not for the first time and certainly not for the last.” Lotor didn’t seem bothered by Keith’s harsh tone, most likely expecting it. He grabbed his sword’s handle and yanked it from the ground, “Besides, this is a fight where more is better.”

Keith frowned, glancing where Voltron was still trying to finish off the last Druid. Only now they had the help of the Avok Fighters, Krolia, and some of the rebels. It was clear that the Druid wasn’t going to last, not when all it could do was continue warping out of range from attacks. It seemed panicked as it tried and failed to warp out of Oriande like its comrade had ages ago. However what it didn’t know was that it was a useless endeavor. Keith, now as acting Guardian for Oriande, had closed access to it. No one could get in or out of the mystical realm without his say. There was no way Keith was going to risk letting Honerva escape, after all.

“Lotor.”

The two stiffened, turning their focus on the Altean before them. Honerva looked relax and unbothered like she hadn’t just been bashing someone’s head into the ground. She even smiled though it looked hollow and stiff, almost as if she wasn’t used to smiling.

“Witch.” Lotor spat, eyes narrowed.

Honerva’s smile did not waver even as she chuckled, “Is that any way to speak to your mother?”

“Honer-Haggar! Don’t!” Keith took a step forward, hands clenching. 

But Lotor didn’t seem phased by her words nor Keith’s panic. Instead he scoffed, raising his sword to point right at Honerva. “You are no mother of mine. My mother died 10,000 deca-phoebs ago. You are just her shadow!”

That finally caused a reaction from Honerva. Her smile slipped from her face and she stared blankly at him. Lotor’s words just now… Weren’t they the words she told herself about Zarkon? That he was not the man she married, that he had long since died. But was she the same? Had she really changed so much from who she used to be? Did she also die in the quintessence field along with her husband?

Keith turned wide eyes to Lotor, neither aware of Honerva’s internal ponderings. “You _knew_? That Haggar—?”

“Used to be Honerva? Yes. However the moment she took up the name Haggar, my mother died.” At least that’s how Lotor saw it. And he’d continue to believe it no matter how this woman before him acted. His parents were dead, leaving behind only Emperor Zarkon and his witch.

Honerva exhaled, collecting herself before settling with her usual neutral expression. “I see. So your hold on Lotor is that strong. Enough that he doesn’t believe I am his mother…” Purple quintessence began gathering in her hands, crackling like flames in the evening light. “It doesn’t matter. I’ll break that hold if it’s the last thing I do!!”

Yet before she could dare attack something ripped through the air. Honerva dodged just as an Altean energy whip smashed into the ground beside her. The whip retracted and at its end stood Allura, the Princess glaring down at Honerva. 

“You will **not** kill another Altean! I will not allow it!!” 

And like that Allura was joining Lotor and Keith in the fight against Honerva. On the side stood the rest of the Voltron coalition. They had finally dispatched the last Druid and were now watching from the sidelines. It made them flinch at the vicious way Honerva would attack and slam both Allura and Keith into the ground and pillars. Though they instantly noticed that she seemed to be directly avoiding attacking Lotor.

“We’ve got to help them!” Hunk said, watching in concern as Allura pulled herself from a crater in the ground and launched back into the fray.

“Yeah!”

“Oh, I think not!” Coran chuckled, stepping beside Pidge and placing a hand on her shoulder. 

Everyone let out sounds of protest, looking to Coran like he’d just grown another head and declared himself Zarkon’s number 1 fan. But the older Altean wasn’t looking at them and instead was working on shucking off his vest, leaving him in just his undershirt. He then pulled on what looked like gauntlets, the sleek design signifying it was Altean-made.

“This is not a battle for just anyone,” Coran said, his expression turning almost sad as he stepped forward. “This is a battle amongst Alteans.”

Matthew looked conflicted on Pidge’s other side, watching the orange-haired Altean continue onwards to the heart of the battle. “But…”

“Let them,” Krolia spoke up, helping an injured rebel over to Romelle. The Altean had come from the castle ship with Coran and was currently tending to the injured. “This is a fight they need to conclude with their own hands. In this fight we are outsiders.”

“That and we’d probably be broken like twigs if we got into the middle of that.” Ezor grimaced when they all heard the loud crack of Coran’s fist connecting to the ground and shattering stone. 

That was as much of a truth as ever. Even Zethrid knew she couldn’t compete with how much strength they were putting into each attack. However while Honerva was relentless in attacking the others, she was visibly refraining from hurting Lotor. She didn’t even deflect his attacks and instead chose to dodge. It was equal parts frustrating and saddening. Even in the state she was in, mind twisted and unhinged, she could not hurt her child, not after having spent thousands of deca-phoebs inflicting all kinds of pain on him. Even if he did not see her as his mother, even called her a shadow, she still refused to raise a hand to him.

“Coran!”

Allura launched her bayard, it transforming into an Altean glaive midair. Coran caught it, twirling it for a moment before stabbing forward at Honerva. She hissed and disappeared several feet away only to be kicked in the back by Lotor and punched in the face by Keith. 

She choked on a gasp and swung out her hand, a lashing of magic knocking Keith back and into Lotor. The two tumbled backwards but weren’t struck with a follow-up attack as both Coran and Allura leapt in to catch her attention. This went on for a while, all of them trading blows and attempting to land the finishing strike against Honerva. However with every attempt they made she would warp away at the last minute.

Eventually they were all panting in exhaustion, sweat gathering at their temples. Then Honerva’s expression darkened, the wind around her picking up as she began gathering her magic. The gust whipped her robe and hair like a torrent, her hands raising to the heavens.

“ _ **Enough**_ _!!!_ ” 

The sky seemed to darken as Honerva’s newly strengthened magic began sparking and bubbling with malevolence. Allura, Lotor, Coran, and Keith watched in horror as a massive black ball of rolling energy began forming above Honerva. There was a moment where time seemed to freeze, no one moving, not even breathing. And then the orb was shooting out a beam that ripped through the air with a boom. It aimed straight for Keith, the ground in front of it being shred like paper.

Keith’s eyes widened and he only had a split moment to raise his hands and summon his own quintessence before the two colliding forces met with a crack that resembled thunder. The ground shook and the force of the blast was felt from those in the distance. A few had even been knocked off their feet from the impact, the rest struggling to brace themselves as the wind blew past. 

Honerva’s quintessence was more powerful than it had ever been. Like this Keith’s quintessence would finally bow to hers! She would be victorious!!

The white of Keith’s quintessence was slowly being overrun by Honerva’s purple. He could feel the poison biting at his hands, threatening to consume him with it. Keith’s breath hitched, arms shaking as he continued to try and force the onslaught back. But there was no letting up. Keith felt his foot slip and for a split second believed ‘ _this was it_ ’.

Then something solid connected with his back and kept him grounded. “ _You’re not in this alone, Yorak_!!” Coran shouted over the roar of the blast. Coran’s Altean markings began to glow as he gathered his own quintessence and started pushing it into Keith. The pouring of new energy felt reinvigorating and helped Keith double his efforts, strengthening the quintessence shield. 

“ _We’re here for you_!” Allura added, coming to help act as Keith’s support.

“ _All of us!_ ” Lotor joined them and like Allura and Coran, began pouring his quintessence into Keith.

From the sides they could see the flare of Keith’s energy growing larger. Soon Honerva’s magic was no longer hammering over them in a relentless torrent, but was slowly being pushed back. The tainted Altean realized this the moment everyone else did. With a cry she pushed more of her quintessence into the attack, the gold of her eyes blazing. She would not _lose_!! Not when she was so close! 

On the other side everyone else combatted Honerva’s yell with one of their own. They poured all their quintessence into Keith, amplifying his powers higher than they’ve ever gone before. As Keith channeled the quintessence he took a shaky step forward, than another. Slowly the group of four began advancing on Honerva with every second that passed. The distance between them grew shorter and Honerva’s desperation was near palpable. 

“ _No!!_ ” She screamed, throwing more of her energy into the attack. Still it did not halt their approach. She was panicking now, throat closing as she shrieked again. Why? Why was it still not enough?! She had the Guardian’s quintessence, the quintessence of the former Paladins—why was she still being beat?!

Honerva was unable to keep up this overpowered attack for very long. When Keith and the others got too close, their magic clashed like it hadn’t before and Honerva was left reeling. She stumbled back, blinking away the spots that’d appeared from the flash of light. Suddenly in front of her Keith appeared, face set in a grim line. In that moment time slowed, Honerva only having a moment to gasp before she felt something sharp pierce right through her.

As they had advanced on Honerva, Keith had taken Lotor’s blade, swapping it for his mother’s. With this single strike it was over. He aimed where he knew would be vital to an Altean. There was no surviving this even if she received immediate aid.

Honerva stumbled back, coughing once and splattering blue blood against Keith’s face. She blinked, confused. Slowly Honerva looked down at the weapon piercing deep at the base of her ribs. She took step back, then another till the sword was no longer piercing her. The moment it was free Honerva’s breathe shuddered and she fell backwards.

Keith dropped the sword, reaching out and catching her before she hit the ground. Then far more gently than she probably deserved, he lowered her the rest of the way. Honerva growled around the blood pooling in her mouth, eyes wild as she glared at Keith.

“ _Honerva, let go._ ” He whispered, bloody hand coming up to cup her cheek. “ _It’s over._ ”

“ _No!_ ” She spat, bearing her teeth. “ _I was—I was close! I won’t—!_ ”

“ _Honerva!_ ” Keith held her firmly, forcing her to look up at him. “ _Let._ _ **Go**_ _. It’s time to rest. No more fighting… Please._ ”

She stared at him as her life slowly drained from her body. Even as Lotor, Coran, and Allura came to crouch beside her, she never took her eyes off Keith. Honerva knew she was dying, that this was it for her. But she hadn’t managed to complete her goals even now. She’d failed.

Honerva’s breath hitched and her eyes blinked rapidly. The group watched in awe as the yellow began to fade. Now she was staring up at Keith with eyes clear for the first time in 10,000 deca-phoebs. Her breaths came in quickly, desperately trying to fill her lungs.

“ _I… I failed._ ” She blinked, turning her eyes slightly to look to Lotor. “ _I failed you._ _I_ _ **hurt**_ _you._ ”

“ _You did._ ” Lotor’s hands clenched at his sides but he refused to look away. “ _You hurt me and I will never forgive you for that. But… I don’t hate you._ ”

Honerva chuckled wetly, eyes falling closed. “ _I would be disappointed if you did forgive me…_ ” She swallowed past the blood in her mouth, inhaling sharply. Her consciousness was fading, it was growing harder and harder for her to think. Her words were starting to slur with every word. “ _I’m sorry. I know… it will never undo the damage… But I am. For Altea, for what I’ve done_ …”

Keith raised a hand so that he could place it over Honerva’s eyes. “ _Sleep now, Honerva. Apologize when you see them. They’re waiting for you._ ”

“ _Will I even reach where they are?_ ”

“ _No matter what you’ve done in life, all Alteans return to Oriande’s halls when they die._ ” Keith’s voice dropped to a whisper, a promise woven between the words. “ _And not just them, but their mates as well. He’ll be there with you, you just have to let go._ ”

Keith didn’t say anything when he felt the moisture beneath his hand. Nor did he speak up as Honerva chuckled, whispering a prayer to the stars and hoping they heard her. Keith and the others remained silent as they listened to Honerva’s breathing even out before it slowed to a halt. 

There was silence and then suddenly orbs of light began appearing from Honerva’s chest, shooting into the sky like streaking stars. Everyone looked skyward in awe as the six orbs began darting around like they were unsure where to go. Each orb was a particular colour that correlated with the Lions of Voltron, only one standing apart by being larger and of a pure white colour.

“What are they?!” Allura exclaimed breathlessly.

“The quintessence Honerva stole…” Keith whispered, watching the white ball fly in a twirling arc before it was shooting straight for him. Keith shuddered as it connected with his chest, the energy coursing through him feeling like the caress of a familiar friend.

He placed a hand to his chest and smiled, standing. He watched those orbs of light land one by one. The air around them shimmered like a mirage before stepping forth from the light were a team of five all decked out in armor of old. Beside Keith both Allura and Coran stood, staring in disbelief at the sight before them.

“It… It can’t be…” Allura whispered for a moment as tears sprung to her eyes. “Father!”

Indeed Allura was right. One of the figures was Alfor. He was dressed in his Red Paladin uniform and was standing beside a Zarkon that looked far different than the one they were used to. His eyes were clear and his expression seemed almost hesitant. He was also dressed in the former Paladin uniform just as the other three around them. These were the previous Paladins of Voltron.

“Father!!” Allura cried once again before breaking into a sprint at the figure.

“Allura!” Alfor’s arms opened wide, catching Allura as she flung herself at him. The two hugged, Alfor burying his face into his daughter’s hair. 

“Ooh! You’re pulling my fin! This is little baby Allura?” The former Paladin decked in blue leaned over Alfor’s shoulder, bringing his face close to a teary Allura.

“Careful Blaytz! Your ugly mug just might scare her!” Boomed the large Yellow Paladin as he jovially slapped the other on the back.

The Blue Paladin, Blaytz, lurched forward slightly before sending his companion a pout. “You’re so rude to me Gyrgan. I’m hurt.”

“Then why are you smiling?” The Green Paladin asked with a smirk.

“Trigel has a point.”

Blaytz opened his mouth to respond when suddenly he noticed the new person approaching, eyes widening. He quickly shoved both Gyrgan and Trigel to the side, not that the Yellow Paladin budged much. “Hold on! Do my eyes deceive me? Is that Coran?!”

That caught Alfor’s attention, his head snapping up from where he’d been whispering to Allura. Standing a few feet away was indeed Coran. The Altean was looking both confused and happy, tears gathering in his eyes. 

Allura sniffed and wiped her face, taking a step back so Alfor and Coran could have their moment. She caught sight of her Paladins still up near Oriande’s temple entrance, watching the spectacle with the other coalition members. She then grinned, gesturing with her hand to them. “Voltron! Come here!”

At the call of Voltron the former Paladins perked up only to realize Allura wasn’t talking to them but instead was addressing the group of four slowly approaching. Gyrgan was the first to react when the group was close enough. The large Rygnirathean stepped forward with an exclaimed, “By Willow! Are these our successors?” 

“U-uh hi, I’m Hunk, the new Paladin for Yellow. Nice to meet you?” Hunk offered an unsure grin, sticking his hand out for a shake to Gyrgan. 

The alien bypassed this, instead going right to clasping Hunk on the shoulder and pulling him into a hug. “How is Yellow treating you? She is a strong girl! Immovable!”

And like that the previous Paladins were mingling with the new, Lance excitedly greeting Blaytz and telling him that he used to pilot Blue, but now he piloted Red. The only ones not to join in yet was Alfor, still standing there trying to find words to tell Coran, and Zarkon. He stood off to the side, watching the group laugh and talk.

“Is that…?” Lotor mumbled, eyes watching Zarkon like a hawk.

“Yeah, it’s probably the Zarkon from before he and Honerva were corrupted. The first piece of Quintessence she ever absorbed.” Keith whispered, nearly sighing.

Lotor’s expression turned complicated for a moment. He stared down at his feet, ignoring the blood pool that was only inches from where he stood. Then the Prince eventually seemed to make up his mind. His posture straightened and with a determined glint in his eye he stomped forward.

Like a moth to a flame, everyone’s attention was drawn to the sudden movement. They watched with a mixture of emotions as Lotor stopped before the peacefully smiling Zarkon. At Lotor’s approach, Zarkon’s smile shifted to something more confused, disbelieving almost.

“You… You look…?” How could he say that Lotor looked like Honerva? But he was clearly Galra… Only… Not entirely.

“I am Prince Lotor of the Galra Empire, son to Zarkon of Daibazaal and Honerva of Altea.” Lotor declared with a proud raise of his chin as if daring Zarkon to refute his claims.

But that isn’t what happened. Instead it was silent for only a single tick and then Blaytz was loudly shouting something in his language that earned a scandalous gasp from Trigel and a punch to his shoulder. It was near surreal to see the way Zarkon blushed at whatever he said, his expression turning near sheepish. 

He stared down at Lotor in a way that could only be considered as awe. “My son… Our son…” However his expression shifted when he reached a hand up to place on Lotor’s shoulder and the young Prince flinched away. It was then that Zarkon noticed the faint tremble in Lotor’s form. He frowned, expression turning sad. “I have hurt you, haven’t I?”

“No,” Lotor bit his lip, glaring at the ground. He hated this feeling of fear, apprehension. It stole the air from his lungs and made it feel like his chest was squeezing impossibly tight. But… He had to say this. He needed to. “The you now didn’t even realize I was your son till I said it. That just proves you’re not him. You’re not the Zarkon I grew up knowing. I do not hold what he has done against **you**. That would be unfair of me.”

Zarkon stared at him for a long while before his smile returned, “You’ve grown to be a wise man, I’m glad. I know the Galra people will be in good hands when this is over. I can only wish I would be there to see how high you climb.”

“What do you mean?” Shiro asked from where he stood.

“They’re already dead,” Keith’s words caught everyone’s attention. He was moving closer to where the group had congregated, the deceased body of Honerva in his arms. “They can’t stay on this plane for long. They have to move on.”

“But—!” 

Allura’s protest was cut-off by Alfor raising his hand. His smile turned mournful, “Yorak is right. We must say goodbye…” He paused, reaching out a hand and bridging the distance between him and Coran. He cupped the other’s cheek, both of their eyes crinkling as they shared a smile. “I’m sorry to leave you once again.”

Coran snorted wetly, tears shining in his eyes. “What are you talking about leaving? It’s just farewell for now. I’ll be with you and Melenor before you know it.”

Alfor grinned wide and laughed, “I can’t wait!”

There was a single second where Coran seemed to be debating something before he let out a groan and wrapped his arms around Alfor. Everyone watched as Coran dipped the former King and connect their lips in a kiss.

“Yeah Coran!!! Get some!!!” Lance yelled, Blaytz cheering alongside him.

The kiss was brief but when Coran straightened Alfor from the dip the two were blushing like teenagers. Coran then grinned wide, “Be sure to give Melenor a kiss for me as well!”

Alfor’s grin seemed to widen and he chuckled, reaching up to cup Coran’s cheeks. “I believe I will need another one then. For her and myself.”

“Well I’ve always been willing to provide for my King.” And like that Alfor and Coran were sharing one more kiss, this one gentler but just as sweet. They hugged before parting, hands raising to brush each other’s markings. Coran then stepped back so that Alfor and Allura could say their farewells.

Keith watched, smile tinged in sadness before he looked up at Zarkon. The Galra stopped in front of him, staring down at Honerva’s face. He reached up a hand to wipe away the blood at her mouth, unintentionally smearing it against her skin.

“I’m coming, my love…” He whispered, bending down to press a kiss to her forehead.

“I’ll give her a proper Altean burial.”

Zarkon seemed surprised but he smiled, “Thank you…” He then turned to Lotor and straightened up. “Lotor… Son. I… Your childhood must have been painful, I’m sorry for this. But I’m glad to see the friends and support you have surrounding you now. I know you’ll be a great King.”

The Prince blinked before ducking his head, whispering a soft “thank you”. 

“Yorak,” Alfor called, getting the Altean’s attention. The two friends stared at each other as a series of unnamed emotions passed over their faces. Then Alfor was smiling widely at him and nodding his head. “Thank you.”

Keith returned the nod and smile, “Farewell, my King.”

Everyone stepped back and watched as Zarkon and the other former Paladins lined up with each other. They looked to the distance, seeing their Lions sitting and facing this way. They exhaled as one, eyes on the horizon.

“See you on the other side.” Trigel said as a light began to shimmer along their forms.

“Think my mate’ll be there?” Blaytz asked rhetorically, grinning wide.

Zarkon chuckled, “Only one way to find out.”

The light around them grew and soon their forms disappeared back into those orbs of light. They floated for a moment before darting up high into the sky and scattering in all directions like a firework going off. 

No one was sure how long they stood there looking up at the sky. But eventually Keith let out a sigh and spoke up, catching everyone’s attention. “Alright, gather up! This is important!” He waited till the coalition members and the Paladins of Voltron were in front of him before speaking. “Voltron, Sam, Matt, you all have a mission from the Guardian. You’re going to Earth, it’s time they get their head out of their ass and learn there’s life out here. You’re going to need to prepare them for whatever might come.”

Something in Keith’s phrasing caught Shiro’s attention. His brow creased and he stepped forward, “But what about you?”

Keith’s expression turned rueful and he shrugged his shoulders, “I can’t leave Oriande. When Honerva absorbed the Guardian’s quintessence, she in-avertedly killed it. It was a being of pure quintessence after all.”

“So the piece you keep of the Guardian…?”

“Yeah,” Keith nodded, “Like when I died, it’s using that piece to regenerate. So till its back at full strength I have to stay here so Oriande doesn’t collapse.”

Krolia finally moved from the crowd, reaching up so she could try and wipe away the blood beneath his nose. “Kit…”

“Go with them,” Keith said with a small smile, “Say hi to dad for me. I’m sure he’s missed you.”

From the side Lotor stepped forward, hands behind his back. He managed to compose himself after whatever moment of vulnerability he had when talking to the spirit of Zarkon. Now he was as put-together as always. “The Avok Fighters will stay behind with Yorak. We still have to move the Alteans from the colony.”

“And besides,” Keith said as he gently handed Honerva’s body over to Zethrid with instructions on where to take her in the temple. "It isn’t like you guys can’t come visit. Just send a message and I’ll open a wormhole for you guys.”

“You’d better!!” Pidge rushed to give Keith and Lotor a hug, dishing out equal hugs to Ezor, Narti, and Acxa. The rest of Voltron did the same till everyone had said their farewells to the people they’d be leaving behind.

Then it was just Keith and Shiro, the two standing in front of each other. Shiro hesitated, eyes searching for something in Keith’s expression. Keith grinned, grabbing the front of Shiro’s armor and tugging him down. Shiro’s eyes widened in surprise before he was flushing in embarrassment at feeling a pair of lips land on the corner of his mouth.

Keith then pulled away and grinned at him, a hand to his chest as he gently pushed Shiro back. “We’ll talk later. You guys better get going. It’s going to be a long journey.”

Shiro cleared his throat, cheeks burning a dark red. But he nodded and flashed Keith a dopey smile. “Yeah… We’ll keep in touch.”

From there Keith stood with Lotor and his generals, watching the ships fly into the sky and gradually disappear from sight. Romelle stood with them, choosing to stay behind to help her people adjust when they would arrive. She had her hands behind her back, head tilting to the side as she looked to Keith.

“So… What are we going to do now?”

“I don’t know about you guys, but I’m going to take a fucking shower.” Keith griped, “I’m **done** with this uniform.”

The group laughed, turning to follow Keith into the temple. “And after?”

“After?” Keith looked up as they passed the temple doors. He stared at the roof as the room began to light up from his presence. “We’ll see.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Additional A/N: Like the end of part 1, here's a song to bid farewell to this part~ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsM_VmN6ytk

**Author's Note:**

> Additional A/N: Thank you for reading! Check out my twitter at https://twitter.com/NeonCandies for information on fic updates and other things!


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